This Isn't Right Is It?
by Integrity FTW
Summary: Danny has always had a crush on Anette. He also always disliked Erik. It was part of life or at least Danny thought it was. Complications occur thorwing the three young adults into to a turmoil of love, rivalry, and misunderstandings. ErikxAnettexDannyx-?
1. Messed Up Dreams

Danny sat in the corner of his room. The half empty bottle met his lips as he guzzled some of the alcoholic contents. After standing behind the counter of a failing store all day he looked forward to sitting down and having a nice drink before bed. Sighing, the young man placed the bottle back on the desk. If he drank it all in one night he wouldn't be able to afford another one for a while. With a yawn, he stood and sluggishly walked to his bed. Thank goodness tomorrow was a festival. It meant he wasn't stuck behind a counter all day.

_What festival was it?_ Danny contemplated for a minute. _Oh yeah the quiz festival._ He smiled to himself. He loved winter, but not just for its festivals. Actually they weren't all that good. The quiz festival was probably the only exception because he couldn't help but laugh at the silly answers people guessed.

Anyways, winter kept this one guy that Danny disliked at bay, Erik. Not being able to grow his many crops seemed to make the guy depressed. He didn't hate the guy, but Erik just… annoyed him. "Why are you buying so many seeds if you won't sell them?" and "Crops are blah blah blah." Always came out of Erik's mouth whenever Danny spoke to him. The only good thing about Erik was his ridiculous fear of turnips. Whenever Danny mentioned the word to Erik would flip out giving Danny something to laugh about for days.

Danny felt his eyelids get heavier. He quickly flicked the light off and drifted to sleep.

-

"_Erik! What are you doing here?" Anette asked, obviously surprised._

"_I came to see you, silly." Erik's voice responded. _

_Danny couldn't see anything for a bit. He only heard Erik and Anette laughing together. Suddenly he found himself at Erik's door. His hand decided to open it on its own. In the house and down the hallway a light was on, a bedroom light._

_What was Anette doing in Erik's bedroom before he had come to see her? Jealousy gripped Danny like a pair of ice clamps. Images of Erik beaten to a pulp flashed in front of his eye. Danny didn't feel his feet move, but soon realized he was at the bedroom entrance. The doorknob taunted him to open it, literally. _

"_Don't you want to know what's going on? Hmm? Don't ya? Just a little twist and you can find out!" It grew a mouth as it spoke. Danny's felt cold sweat run down his neck. Doorknobs weren't supposed to talk. Anette wasn't supposed to be in s boy's bedroom giggling, and he wasn't supposed to be at Erik's house. His hand clamped the doorknob's mouth shut and violent twisted it like no tomorrow. _

_Danny felt his eyes widen. There was Anette, the mail girl whom he'd had a crush on ever since he moved town, seemingly pinned underneath the brown haired farmer Erik…on his bed! Neither of them had even looked up when he opened the door. Danny's once opened hands curled into fists, but his legs refused to move. He watched Erik lean closer to Anette, whose eyes were closed and her cheeks were slightly tinted pink. _

_It was in slow motion. Erik was slowly bending his arms to make his lips meet Anette's. Danny's legs suddenly decided they could move again. He charged like a madman diving at Erik intending to get him off of Anette. She would never want this! _

_Something was wrong. Danny went right through Erik, like he was a hologram. He didn't go through the floor though. Danny hit it with the full force of his tackle, but it didn't hurt compared to what happened next. The world sped up. Erik's mouth crashed against Anette's and Danny swore something broke with in his chest. _

"_Bow chika wow wow!" Sang the doorknob before pain erupted all along Danny's body. _

-

**Author's Note: Oh this was a lot of fun to write. I recently got Rune Factory Frontier and gave me a lot of inspiration for some fanfics. This just seemed like it would be the most fun to write ^^ I haven't played any other Rune Factory games so if something I write contradicts something in another game please tell me -_-' Be ready for chapter two soon! **


	2. Depressing?

Instead of his pillow, Danny found hard wood floor against his face when his eyes opened. He was freezing and was breathing hard. He used his arms to sit up and found himself on the floor of his bedroom next to his bed while his blanket lay mangled a few feet away from him.

_It was just a dream. _Danny realized. He sighed and rubbed his face. It hurt probably from falling off of his bed in the middle of the night. Now that he thought about it all over really hurt. _I must've really fallen. _Dreams could be a little too real, Danny mentally noted.

His eyes drifted around his room. Everything was normal. Anette wasn't having a relationship with Erik that he didn't know about and doorknobs weren't magically growing mouths and singing. His alcoholic drink was still on the desk in the corner of his room. Just seeing it sitting there tempted Danny to take another sip. At the thought of his dear liquid friend Danny realized something. He didn't have a hangover. Life wasn't too bad for waking up on the floor. As Danny stood up he glanced at his clock.

"Crap!" It was already 8:30. He had to be at the public square by 9 is he was going to be on time to the festival. Hastily he retrieved his blanket, threw it on his bed, and proceeded to get ready. Life was a little more depressing.

Finally he found some clean cloths, inhaled breakfast, and managed to get out the door by 8:55. He was going to be cutting it close. His feet pounded against the stone ground as he ran towards the public square. He sprinted right past Eunice and Uzuki causing the foreigner to stop mid sentence when she was describing a festival in her country.

"Instead of having the festival only include intellect competitions it-" Uzuki was explaining through her gentle accent when Danny ripped past them. He couldn't care less what the two ladies were talking about. The only thing he was worried about was getting to the festival on time. He didn't have very many pet peeves, but the ones he did have could really tick him off. Being late was one of them.

_Maybe Erik would be competing and he would make a fool of himself. _Danny thoughts couldn't help but bring a smirk to his face. It gave him all the more motivation to get to the celebration on time. His feet were carrying him up the stairs with ease quickly. Standing behind a counter all day had its benefits. Plus Anette loved guys who were fit. That was definitely an upside.

Danny dared a look at his cheap wrist watch. 9:02. He was late! Finally he found himself at the public square. Candy was doing the introduction of the festival. A group of other spectators were in the square also. Danny joined them in order to get a better view of the competitors this year.

Raguna, a new farmer who recently moved to town, was competing. He had been participating in all of the festivals really so it wasn't a surprise. Next to him was Mist. Danny really didn't really know her so he moved on to the next competitor. The owner of the inn, Turner, stood next to her. Hmm. That was new. Older adults didn't take part in festivals very often. The guy who was standing next to the rather large man made Danny smirk. It was none other than Erik.

When Danny started paying attention, Kanno he was just finishing up the introductions of the competitors.

"Lastly our fourth competitor, the Bachelor Erik!" Kanno announced his elderly features showing distaste at the word bachelor. Erik returned the introduction with a bow to the crowd and…wait was that a smirk? _Does he have something up his sleeve? _Danny wondered. Nothing else would put such a smug expression on that guy's face.

Someone in the group of spectators Danny was in shouted. It took him only an instant to recognize the voice as Anette's. The words she had shouted took more than an instance for him to comprehend.

"You're so hot! I-" Danny's brain refused to listen to anymore. He felt it shut down like a failing computer. It didn't make sense. Why was Anette shouting such things at this festival? Danny would have dwelled in his own melancholy and confusion for the entire festival if the person next to him hadn't started chuckling.

The entrancing half-elf Ganesha stood next to Danny. She was laughing quietly while looking at Anette. He blinked. Why was she laughing? Ganesha soon noticed Danny's baffled face. "Anette will really do anything for food." The blond women smiled.

Wait. What? Danny opened his mouth to reply that Anette hadn't said anything about food when he felt a realization hit him in the head like a train. His brain had shut down. He didn't even listen to everything Anette had said.

Ganesha added quietly as Kanno started to recite the first question,"Especially anything Erik cooks."

Danny swore he was going to puke.

-

**Yay! Chapter two! This wasn't too hard to write and I think I did an okay job. Action should be picking up A TON in the next chapter. I'm going to be out of school in a few weeks so I will be able to write like a mad person ^^ My original idea for this fic came from stuff in this chapter. I was playing RFF and it was the quiz festival and well what do ya know I'm competing against Erik and guess what else? Anette actually shouting something like what I wrote. I'm not going to tell you all of what she said because that may be spoilers to future chapters! Hee hee, I love the power of suspense :D I probably won't get the next chapter up as quickly as I got this one up… Oh yes, I've read my fair share of long fics and I feel like my chapters are too short… Are they? Or is it just me? **


	3. That's Rare

The crisp winter air filled Anette's lungs as she ran. It was turning out to be a good day. No monsters had chased her, she hadn't trip, no incorrectly written addresses, and the sun was shinning despite the snow on the ground. Plus there was a tasty treat waiting for her at her friend's house. Excitement bubbled in the Anette's stomach. She wondered what it her snack was going to be. Just the thought of the possibilities made her hungry.

Anette felt her two braids bounce against her back with every careful step she took down the Rune Archive's stairs. She glanced in her bag that was amazingly lighter since Selphy's package was taken out of it. It seemed rather empty. There weren't any more packages, and even with a good amount of deliveries left there was only a smattering of letters, all in all her bag was relatively light, almost exceptionally light. Anette shrugged, which usually was impossible with a heavy bag over his shoulder, maybe people just didn't much to say to each other.

"Melody, you have mail!" Anette called as she placed an interestingly decorated letter in the mailbox of the bathhouse. It was sent by someone related to Melody, probably in her immediate family. You could tell a lot about someone by their mail, Anette realized. The interesting decorations seemed to complement Melody's rather unique personality. The muscle memory of Anette's legs now took her further into the business district. What Anette saw was the norm.

Uzuki was practicing her naginata with Tsubete saying something obnoxiously loud. Eunice was humming to herself as she swept the sidewalk in front of the inn while, wait a second. Anette tripped over her feet landing in a heap, sending letter's flying everywhere. Something was wrong. Her cheek slightly burned. Without thinking Anette felt her cheek with her hand realizing a painful scrape was now taking refuge on her face. She slowly sat up. When was the last time she tripped?

"Anette, are you alright?!" Uzuki called with concern as she rushed forward, followed by a wide eyed Eunice. Tsubete remained by the inn, pretending not to be paying attention to the commotion.

"I'm fine," Anette smiled reassuringly, feeling her newly discovered wound move painfully as she curved her lips upward.

"Your cheek!" Eunice gasped, obviously worried. Uzuki started gather the mail before it got too soaked by the snow.

"Oh this? This is nothing, don't worry about me!" Anette replied pointing at her cheek briefly then she proceeded to put letter snow coated letters back in her bag. After what Anette hoped were all the letters were snuggly put in her bag she stood up and hastily brushed the snow off.

Anette heard Uzuki and Eunice say something about being careful and such as they both walked off as she watched the snow fall from her hands on to the ground and cover something on the ground. What was that? The mail girl reached down and brushed the snow away to reveal a letter. Anette felt her heart skip a beat. Crap. Thanks to the snow the address was an inky mess and only half of the return address was still intact. How was she ever going to deliver a letter in this condition? No, how was she even going to figure out who the letter was to? Oh no… This was really bad. The reason why she tripped causing all this mess was the last thing on Anette's mind.

-

**Author's Note: I decided to now focus on Anette a little bit. It's the only way I can really move the plot along without it being boring/confusing/long/cheesy -_-' I was tempted to mesh this with the next chapter but I decided against this. The foreshadowing at the end of the last paragraph was too good for me too mess up ^^ Sorry again for it being short, but I'm still trying to get better at foreshadowing so when I finally get it right I don't want to mess it up . I'm uploading this right before bed so I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors that I'm too tired to track down ******** Oh and thanks for the feedback and reviews! They're really cool to get in my world :D I will update soon! Very, very soon, I practically have the next chapter written in my head ^^**


	4. Pumpkin Tarts and Hangovers

Anette inhaled. It was amazing. For a moment it made her forget about the soaked letter snuggly tucked away in her coat pocket and the now stinging scratch on her face. To think, her treat smelled this good and she wasn't even in the same room. Saliva threatened to escape from her mouth and drizzle down her chin. No matter how many times Anette delivered the morning mail or how big a breakfast she ate it always surprised her how hungry she was. She used to think it was a sign that she was growing taller, but alas she still remained as short as ever.

With a quick shake of her head Anette came back to reality where she was more than aware of the ruined letter and irritating wound. After a quick knock Erik answered the door.

"Anette," Erik was looking at his wrist watch before as he opened the door. The corners of his mouth were pulled down in a disapproving frown. "You're a few minutes-" The brunette farmer abruptly stopped talking when his eyes met the unpleasant sight on Anette's cheek.

The mail carrier blinked. Didn't…wasn't she told that every morning? Wait no; this was the first time it was told to her today. Before she tripped there was something wrong with the business district and when she noticed that she tripped so maybe…. Was being told she was late somehow related to why she tripped?

"What happened to you?!" Erik sounded almost hysterical. Anette felt his hands on land on her shoulders. "Did somebody or a monster…?" He couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence.

"No, Erik, really I'm-" Anette couldn't complete her explanation before Erik pulled her into a protective hug.

"Really, I'm fine." Anette replied as she managed to wriggle out of Erik's arms. She grinned reassuringly, "What about my treat? Everybody was laughing at me during the festival, so it better be good!"

-

The bottom of the metal mailbox was cold against Danny's hand. Normally he would have flinched against the cold, but he already felt like crap so why should he waste the energy to pull his hand out just to keep it warm.

"Hm." He mumbled to himself. No mail.

Danny turned and walked back into his store. His shoulders were slumped and his eyes were downcast. This was turning out to be a very depressing day. Yesterday Danny had tried to enjoy the Quiz festival. Instead he was disappointed when Erik won, only by Kanno's intervention, and Anette shouted some other things about Erik that Danny would find no pleasure in repeating. Not to mention he used the bad day as an opportunity to drink himself to sleep only to wake up during late afternoon with a hangover. The headache was only part of the problem. He had missed seeing Anette on her daily route and now due to his unsuccessful shop he was out of his beverage friend and couldn't afford any more.

Winter wasn't doing its job. Erik was supposed to be the depressed one. Not Danny.

Danny let his head fall onto his arms. Since he was standing behind the counter it was a slightly…odd position. The young man hadn't even bothered to rub the sleep out of his eyes. It wasn't like he was expecting any customers.

The creak of his door begged to differ.

"Hey Danny!" Speak of the devil. Danny refused to lift his head from his arms. There was no way _he_ would be a customer.

"What you'd think of my performance yesterday? Pretty impressive, right? I think some of the lovely ladies in this town might be falling for me!" His. Voice. Was. So. Annoying.

"So uh…why did I come here again…?" Danny finally looked up. Erik was standing just on the other side of the counter and actually looked like he was thinking hard.

"I know you aren't going to buy anything so just leave." Danny muttered. Hurting Erik was out of the question. It wouldn't be any fun. He would just cry and Danny would look like a horrible guy for ever hurting the ever helpful Erik. Plus Anette would scold him and never understand that Erik deserved it. Yeah, no fun at all.

"Oh yes I remember now!" Erik put his fist in to the palm of his open, signifying some sort of victory. "Lute is in town and wants to buy us drinks to celebrate my victory. He asked me to tell you. Meet ya at six at the bar!"

Danny sighed once the door closed behind Erik. It was an old tradition. When Danny was new in town Erik had welcomed him by inviting him to get drinks at the bar with a few friends. Lute had been one of the friends. Now all the other guys had moved away and it was only Lute, Erik, and himself.

Erik slowly started getting on Danny's nerves, but no matter how many excuses he came up with Danny couldn't get out of going. Erik either enjoyed Danny's irritation or couldn't take a hint.

With another sigh Danny looked at the clock. 4:05 PM. He would have to go.

-

**I am sorry this took WAY too long to update DX My original plan for this chapter totally went down the drain once I started writing. I really had to rethink the rest of the story when I was writing this and that took a bit. Then due to parental difficulties (-_-') I had very limited time to work on this. Sorry if it isn't very good, I personally feel like it's kind of rushed, but I did make sure that this chapter was plenty long. Actually this is about how long I want all the rest of chapters to be… I'm not sure when you can expect an update for this story; hopefully it will be relatively soon.**


	5. Drinking With The Guys

Danny turned the key, locking his store. The snow slightly crunched under his feet whenever he shifted. It certainly was turning out to be a cold winter this year. Small snowflakes were already making themselves comfortable in Danny's blonde hair.

Trampoli seemed to have a dead silence. It was almost like a trance. The eerie song from the rock monument could be heard, even from where Danny was standing in the business district. He didn't want to disrupt it, but Danny's feet carried him to the Snow Style bar nonetheless.

"Danny!" Lute's familiar voice called to him from a table in the corner of the bar. Quickly, Danny maneuvered through the tables, dodging a drunk Kanno and tipsy Stella on his way.

Finally he managed to slide into a seat around the four person table. "Where's pretty boy?" Danny asked as his gaze slid across the bar. Stella and Kanno were apparently having a drinking contest while Rita was scolding Turner.

"Oh Erik?" Lute blinked. Danny swore the peddler must have been zoning out or something, "He said he'd be here soon. Now that I think about, I wonder what's taking him so long. It's already 6:10."

"Hm." Danny replied as he glanced at Lute. The red haired peddler seemed to regain that faraway look in his crimson eyes once he stopped talking. Whatever, he was probably just thinking about his next painting.

"Hey uh, Danny, can I ask you something?" Lute was looking down at the table, fumbling with his fingers.

"You just did." Danny replied bluntly. Something was up with Lute, he could tell.

"Oh, uh oops," Lute gave a nervous chuckle. He stopped playing with his fingers and laid his hands flat on the table. "Uh, anyways, I can trust you, can't I?"

"Well, yeah." Danny replied, "We're friends aren't we?"

"Okay, well it about this gir-," Lute started, but was interrupted by someone approaching the table, actually two someone's approaching the table.

"Sorry I'm late guys." Erik apologized, but Danny wasn't listening. Anette was standing beside Erik looking at her feet with a nasty scrape all along one of her cheeks.

"Anette, are you okay?" Danny asked, he'd never seen Anette so glum or wounded in such a way. The mail girl's eyes rose from the floor and met Danny's. They didn't have that shine they usually had, but still the unique shade of blue only strengthened Danny's belief that they were the most beautiful eyes in town.

Suddenly Anette's eyes seemed to widen while still locked with Danny's. She didn't say anything and it seemed her eyes were slowly regaining their shine. Danny felt his cheeks get hot.

Erik then took notice to Danny and Anette's stare.

"H-Hey Anette!" Erik stuttered, "Want to sit next to me?"

Anette's beautiful blues seemed to have completely regained their glow when she turned to Erik, "Oh, sure!" Danny felt jealousy boil within him that Anette answered Erik's question, but not his. He looked down at the table as Erik ordered a round of drinks.

-

"I mean," Erik hiccupped as he spoke slurred words, "Why would any'ne 'ike turnips 'nyway?" His face was flushed and he held a drink in his right hand.

Danny sipped his alcoholic beverage slowly; he wasn't going to get drunk tonight, not with Anette around anyway. Well, not very drunk at least. He was watching her. Anette hadn't touched her drink, but she was being plenty happy just chatting with Lute and Erik, who were at the moment, very, very, drunk.

The nasty scratch did not seem to bother her. It wasn't very deep, but it had a light tint of redish pink to it, like it had a scab, but was picked off. Danny knew he had to figure out how she got hurt.

"Hey um, will you excuse me for a moment?" Anette chirped as she got up out of her chair and pushed it in under the table, like a lady. Erik just nodded his head like a drunken idiot and scooted in so Anette could slip behind him.

Instead of heading to the bathroom, like Danny thought she would, Anette came right up to Danny. She gave him a shy smile, "Can I talk to you outside the bar?" Her deep blue eyes locked with his light brown ones.

Danny had to take a moment to realize he wasn't dreaming. This was Anette; the girl whom he had a crush on for over a year, asking to talk to him. He felt a light blush creep onto this cheeks.

"I, uh, sure." Danny stuttered, he swore he could feel his heartbeat speed up.

"Okay great!" Anette smiled as she started heading out of the bar. Danny clumsily got out of his chair and followed. He didn't bother to respond to Erik's drunken, "Where –hic- are ya 'oing?"

Anette and Danny carefully made their way past some other bar inhabitants. Turner looked like he was ready to pass out at any moment. Danny and Anette reached the door and left the bar to stand on the small porch in front.

"So, what do you want to talk to me about?" Danny mumbled looking at his feet trying to keep himself from doing anything stupid.

"Well this morning I was going about my regular delivers and I tripped." Anette explained looking over the business district. "It's how I got this stupid scrape." She pointed out with a small laugh.

"Oh." She only wanted to tell me about her day? Danny wondered. To think he'd got his hopes up…

"But that's not why I want to talk to you." Anette continued, only acknowledging Danny spoke by looking at him for a moment then her gaze returned to the now snow covered business district.

"Hm." Danny responded trying to keep his cool even though he was worried Anette might hear his hammering heart.

"I need to ask you something." She stated it plainly, but the usually cheeriness of her voice was fading. "Well the thing is I don't trip very often. I don't remember the last time I tripped." She confessed. "So I know that something was different about the business district, because that's when I tripped."

What was she getting at? Danny was starting to feel the winter chill.

"You weren't waiting for me by your mailbox today, were you?"

"I wasn't." Danny admitted without thinking. He had a hangover and slept in.

Anette turned to him smiling with her eyes shining brightly, "Here." A small letter with illegible ink smudges was in her hands. Danny only glanced at the letter and his eyes were back on Anette. She had sensed something was wrong with the business district. She could tell_ he_ wasn't at his mailbox and it had affected her.

Was Danny finally making headway? Would he no longer have to see Erik get all mushy with Anette? Finally after more than a year…

"Erik was late tonight because he was trying to help me figure out who this letter was to and when I saw you tonight I realized I forgot to deliver your mail!"

Wait. What?

"So since I already delivered everyone else's mail in town, I knew that whoever I hadn't delivered mail to was whoever this letter belonged to, and when I saw you tonight I remembered that I hadn't delivered your mail because when I tripped I went straight to Rosetta's Store. So here this letter is definitely yours." Anette explained happily as she had solved her letter mystery.

Danny took the letter, his mind too numb to comprehend anything else she was saying. He thought Anette was finally starting to like him, when all she wanted was to give him his mail?

"I'm going back inside." Anette stated with a smile as she went back into the bar.

This sudden cold feeling came over Danny once the door to the bar had closed. It had nothing to do with the freezing winter winds.

-

**Author's Note: Update! I made sure that I didn't take as long with this update as the last one X.X I was very close to having this chapter end differently, but alas, I thought ending it like this would be better in the long run. Plus I want to try to aim this story in a slightly…darker, direction. The dialog between Anette and Danny seems kind of choppy to me… It was hard for me to get Anette to say what I needed her to say without her losing her Anette-ness…Well any who, I want to thank everyone who's reading this for reading this far is my first multi-chapter fic! Expect more soon ^^**


	6. Why?

Anette felt the warmth of the bar chase the winter chill away from her. She took a nice deep breath, enjoying the scent of Rita's talented cooking. Laughter floated around the bar. The majority of it was drunk, but laughter was laughter.

_Thud. _

"I win again, Kanno." Stella laughed, obviously too drunk for her own good. She was looking down at the ground next to her seat. Kanno lay on the floor, his chair ajar from the table he and Stella were sitting at.

Anette found the scene rather funny until she noticed the clock. It was already after midnight! She had delivers to make tomorrow! Her feet quickly brought it to the table where two also drunk men were laughing.

"Out of all the girls you could fall for-" Erik cut himself off with a laugh, "You like her? She's probably the most unavailable girl in town!"

Lute took his friends comment with good humor as he recovered from his intense laughing, "At least I only like one girl!"

Anette bit her lip. This wasn't the kind of conversation she was used to hearing from Erik or Lute for that matter. "Umm…you guys…" She tried to get their attention.

"Huh? Oh 'ey Anette!" Erik stood up and managed to wrap an arm around Anette's small shoulders and bring her close. He was grinning like an idiot. How much had he drunk tonight?

"Uh, Erik let me go. I need to get home." Anette replied. She was starting to lose her patience. If she didn't get to bed soon she'd have a lot of trouble getting up. Now that she thought about she's have to get up in like, 5 hours!

"No you don't! Just hang out with me!" Erik replied, looking at Anette at first, and then he glanced at Lute. The crimson haired peddler just looked away and focused all his attention on the drink he was currently enjoying.

"Erik really, let me go." Anette started struggling slightly. In response Erik merely pulled her closer. Now her face was smashed against Erik's chest. This wasn't fair! Erik was a lot stronger than she was, not to mention taller. Anette looked up at Erik and bent her brow, trying to get her drunken friend to understand how badly she needed to leave.

Erik was still looking at Lute, who was continuing to ignore him. The farmer's face grew frustrated. He looked at Anette and his face softened, sort of. Anette felt a small amount of uneasiness looking up at Erik. Was he planning something?

Suddenly something happened to Anette that had never happened before. She was being kissed. Anette felt her eyes close. This was…nice. Wait, no! She had work tomorrow! What was she doing after midnight in a bar kissing her friend?! Her friend! You aren't supposed to kiss your friends! Anette felt a sick feeling in her stomach.

Just as rapidly as it started Anette felt the kiss end. Erik's grip loosened around her. She was afraid to open her eyes. Only when her lungs started complaining did she realize she had been holding her breath. Anette gasped for air, her eyes opening when a feeling of lightheadedness overpowered the ill feeling in her gut.

Erik's hands landed on her shoulders, steadying her. Slowly, Anette's gaze rose. Erik's cheeks were flushed, either from the kiss or from alcohol, Anette couldn't tell. His lips were still curved in a smile. His hands left her shoulders as he slid back into his seat.

Thankfully Anette had recovered her balance. "See you tomorrow." And she ran as fast she could to get home, not waiting to hear Erik's response. This wasn't making sense. Why wasn't running getting rid of the sick feeling that had returned?

Right as she was leaving the business district she heard a loud slam, almost like a door. It echoed in the dead night.

-

Danny slammed the door to his store as hard as he possibly could. His feet pounded the stairs as he scaled them two at a time. He threw himself into his bed, momentum carrying him into the wall. The physical pain was simple; an ache along his shoulder and arm where he hit the wall. It was easy to understand.

This other…pain, wasn't so simple. Danny felt warm tears in his eyes. Now lying on his back in bed back he pounded his fist against his sleeping area. Crying was for fools, not him. He struggled to choke down a sob. This pain was like something was burning him from the inside out. Nothing he did had any effect on it. It pounded through his very veins like a constant throb between each cell.

Danny let the crumbled letter fall from his hand onto the floor next to his bed.

_Big Brother,_

_Sis, Daddy, and I went to the doctor because Sis wasn't feeling so good. Doctor says she's really sick. Daddy doesn't know if we can pay for the medi-stuff. Sis has been staying in bed. She doesn't really like because she wants to play outside. Daddy didn't want to tell you in a letter, but since you can't come visit us because of the snow he won't be able to tell you in person either. So I'm telling you now. _

Danny's little brother's name was scribbled at the bottom. It was this letter that intensified this confusing pain; the throbs and constant burning. This letter is what made it really hurt. It was much fainter before. He didn't even notice it until he talked with Anette, but even after that it wasn't that bad. Worse, definitely, but not as bad. Just this small message made it worlds worse.

Danny couldn't tell how long it took, but tears stopped threatening to fall down his cheeks and his sobs became hiccups. He had finally realized what this letter meant.

He was a failure, as a big brother, as a shop owner, and as a man.

Now he had to do something about it or live with this internal torture.

-

**Author's Note: I wrote this all in one sitting. I've never done that before O.O Out of guilt of not updating or just needing to write, I'm not sure X.X Anyways, I wish it could have been longer, but I don't want to mesh it with the next chapter. So yeah, if you can't tell I tried making this chapter a little darker, more confusing. A lot of elements were added to the story so I hope this is getting at least kind of interesting XD Recently I finished the anime "Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann" so you may partially blame it for some of the darkness in this chapter XP (Finishing an anime always makes me sad. Ugh, it's stupid of me to let my mood effect my work DX) If you haven't watched that anime go watch it. Now. Seriously. It's amazingly epic. You won't regret it. I will try my best to update soon! I promise!**


	7. Thought Dwelling

Imagine having a constant ache in your shoulder that hurt at the slightest movement and touch. Put a headache on top of that of which had a pulse of its own. Two merciless fingers pushing against the back of your eyes intensifying the pain of your headache and making your already bloodshot eyes all the sorer. Just the thought of moving your neck sends shrill shrieks of pain down it. Even if you move it slowly even more bone-chilling cries of pain racing down it.

Too bad Danny didn't have to imagine.

Snow lazily drifted toward the ground as the young shop owner stood by his mailbox. After a rough and practically sleepless night Danny didn't look too good. He had forced himself to get up at the usual time. With the sun still along the horizon, he was waiting for his mail. Glancing at his wristwatch made Danny slightly uneasy. It was almost nine and Anette hadn't come by at all. Raguna had come into the business district around seven also with a mail carrier-less morning.

It was irritating. When drifted in and out of dreamless sleeps the night before Danny had decided he would talk to Anette. Really talk to Anette, not just mumble and watch her lips move or get lost in her eyes. He had been a blind fool hoping for Anette to notice him without him having to do anything. Maybe if he became her friend she would notice him.

But she wasn't coming! It ticked Danny off. He would never get over his pet peeve of tardiness, from himself and others. This was all probably Erik's fault. How late did he make Anette stay at the bar last night?

Scowling, Danny painfully straightened his neck from its craned state. Now, instead of the ground, Danny gazed around the business district. It was rather peaceful. Eunice was humming while Uzuki and Tsubete were quarreling. Slowly, he forced his feet one step at a time towards the door of his shop. His hand was one the simple wood door, about to push it open when he heard another door open.

"Thank you for your business!" A loud girl's voice called as Raguna exited the rival shop next to Danny's with some seeds in her hands. The farmer had been looking over his shoulder back at the shop. His head now turned to see Danny staring at him with a rather…upset expression.

"Uh, hey Danny." Raguna gave a feeble wave as he slipped the seeds into his bag. Danny was able to catch a glimpse of them to reveal they were turnip seeds.

"You bought turnip seeds from that other shop?" Danny turned away from the wooden door and now faced Raguna. If his shoulder wasn't hurting he would have crossed his arms. Instead he settled for clenching his hands into fists.

"I- well, yeah." Raguna stuttered, swallowing. Danny adverted his gaze from the farmer to the shop behind Raguna.

"I carry exactly the same kinds of seeds at my store." Danny stated coldly, glaring at the store. Being mad at Raguna was difficult. He really was a nice guy at heart. When the new farmer had first moved to the town Danny learned about how much Raguna disliked "drama" in general.

"Y-yeah, but since it's winter I can't grow many crops and they're cheaper at Materia…" Raguna trailed off, shifted his weight back and forth from one foot to the other.

Danny might have cursed if the business district hadn't been so quiet. He was selling his turnip seeds at 10 gold! Going any cheaper than that was ridiculous! No profit would even be possible at that price!

"That cheap!? She must be doing something illegal, what a cheat! Stealing my customers-" Danny cut himself off before his language got to bad. Raguna looked like he was going pale.

"Rosetta wouldn't-" Raguna started, but Danny stormed past him and burst into the shopped owned by someone called Rosetta.

The owner had straight blond hair cutting off right at her shoulder. Her eyes were a faded shade of tan with an orange tinge to them. She had a slightly petite frame, but looked taller due to her chin slightly protruding in a prideful way. One eyebrow on her face was raised while the other remained turned downward in a rather demeaning fashion. The tight way her arms were crossed defensively across her torso made Danny's shoulder hurt.

"What are you trying to do?" Danny swore he could feel something sharp literally pierce his ears at the sound of her voice. It was accusing and a little impatient. Getting over the imaginary pain in his ears Danny gathered himself, ready to start his argument.

"I should be asking you that, you cheat!" Danny retorted, trying to match the accusation in Rosetta's voice.

"What? I'm not a cheat! I just actually work hard to make my store successful! You're too lazy to event try to run your store!" Rosetta countered. She had been standing near shelves in the back of her store behind the front desk. Now she stepped forward her hips now touching the front counter.

"You don't know me! It's not possible to sell turnip seeds at that price without doing something illegal! There's no profit!" Danny replied, really getting mad. Who did this Rosetta person think she was?

A small smirk formed on Rosetta's face. Her eyebrows now narrowed, like a spider that caught a fly in its web.

"You really are too stupid to be a shop owner." Rosetta stated, with a hint of cruel humor.

"Stop it, both of you!" Raguna spoke in a rather commanding voice Danny had never heard. The farmer was standing near the shelves of produce in Materia; perhaps a meter or so from where Rosetta and Danny were arguing, which was almost nose to nose across the front desk. The blonde man hadn't noticed Raguna enter the store behind him. Both Rosetta and Danny turned to Raguna; Danny could tell Rosetta was just as surprised to hear Raguna's tone as he was.

"Rosetta hasn't done anything illegal Danny!" Raguna continued his voce not as strong as before. The brunette's murky blue eyes stared at Danny. He had never seen such fierceness in them, however, for a short moment; the azure gaze flickered to Rosetta, still having a furious appeal.

Fearing he wouldn't be able to control himself Danny muttered, "If you say so Raguna." He stalked out of that store, his head down, avoiding Rosetta and Raguna's eyes.

-

Erik slowly forced his feet in front of one another. The small slope in front of the church never seemed so steep before. He felt awful. Last night he had drank a bit too much. Well more than a bit. Yet, that didn't keep him from remembering what he did.

Her soft lip against his… He could still feel it and it made him guilty.

Thankfully Erik knew that he would be able to get rid of the horrid feeling soon. Ever since Lara came to town he had found himself becoming more familiar with the nurse. She had become a fast friend to him. Her kind words could soothe anyone. This was no different for Erik.

Still, that didn't keep Erik from helplessly wallowing in the guilt in utter distress. His brown boot scuffed the ground during his entire walk. They we now wet with the snow. Erik only new this because he had kept his head bowed as he walked.

Sudden weight suddenly pushed against Erik threatening to know him over. Instinctively he blindly reached forward. Soft cloth met his hands and he held, slightly pulling himself forward. Once regaining his balance he looked up to see what in the world was going on.

"I-I'm so sorry Erik!" Lara was standing incredibly close to Erik; their noses all most touching. Where Erik had accidentally placed his hands made a blush burn on his face. They were positioned right below the nurse's shoulders. He wasn't touching anything he wasn't supposed to, but it sure did make him uncomfortable.

"M-My bad, Lara. Really I didn't mean to-" Erik cut himself off as he practically ripped his hands away from the sister in training's shoulder area. He looked away from where he had just removed his hands to Lara's face. Were her cheeks red?

-

The cold didn't affect Anette as she ran through the small forest path. She was hours behind schedule. It was almost 9:30 and she had just barely delivered Mist's mail. It wasn't staying up late that had kept her from getting to sleep. Every time she shut her eyes she saw Erik's face, slowly leaning towards her.

It made it rather difficult to sleep.

Getting up wasn't any easier.

Anette's feet continued to carry her unconsciously on her delivery path. Muscle memory made her hand slip into her bag. Her fingers wrapped around the mail for the residents at the church. It consisted of two letters.

The familiar feeling of her muscles tightening as she started up the hill in front of the church made her conscious of where she was. Honestly, Anette was having trouble keeping her eyes open, much less she where she was going.

Something was in the way of the path to the mailbox of the church. Her legs drastically slowed down. Fatigue gnawed at her muscles, begging her to stop.

Anette felt her eyes widen.

Erik was standing ridiculously close to Lara. Both of them blushing red like tomatoes.

-

**Author's Note: Neh, I hope this chapter wasn't too predictable. I'm hoping the whole Erik part threw you all off ^^ Lately I've been reading some Dean Koontz, so I've tried to take some time to add some more detail to my writing. I'm not totally sure if it's noticeable XD Any who, I'm pretty content with this chapter. Thanks again for all the fantastic reviews. They make me want to update more. Waiting for updates is no fun, I've been there. **


	8. Maybe?

Anette stood there gawking like an idiot. Her brain must have done a back flip. All the fatigue in her muscles seemed so much less important as she tired to sort everything her mind was trying to comprehend.

Erik kissed her.

He had been drunk.

Now he's standing close enough to kiss Lara.

Lara is blushing.

Erik is blushing.

He is obviously not drunk.

Like an anchor, Anette felt her heart sink as she came to a conclusion. Erik had kissed her on a whim. He actually liked Lara.

_Think positive! Think positive! _Anette silently chanted, desperate to get rid of this negative apprehension. A lump formed in her throat and the mail carrying tried to swallow and be rid of it, but her efforts were in vain.

Still working like a freight train, the young women's mind attempted to form a list of positive things she could take from this experience. It was an old habit her parents had taught her. No matter what, something good can come from something you think is bad. That's what they told since she was a little girl.

…But then, why was her list still empty?

Exhaustion raced back to her limbs, feeling like it had brought all its friends.

-

Movement. Erik saw movement of some sort from the corner of his eye. He blinked, realizing Lara and him were blocking the path to the church. Someone was trying probably needing to get by. Hastily he turned away from Lara to face down the hill with his head down. Being so close to her might give people the wrong idea.

Erik choked down the guilt he had been meaning to talk to Lara about and also tried to hide the embarrassment of what he had just done. Perhaps it was just Stella after a walk. He didn't feel like explaining his problems to anyone at the moment so it would be easier just to act cheerful. Slowly the brunette man lifted his head only to have everything he wanted to hide so well resurface in surprise.

"Anette!"

She was simply staring at Erik and Lara, who also turned to look at Anette. Her blue were round like saucers. It was obvious she was thinking, but Erik could only guess what must be going through her head. Her wide eyes seemed to emphasize the still present mark on her cheek. Erik felt a lump in his throat preventing him from speaking anymore. He didn't even know what he would say anyways.

Anette's gawking gaze lowered and she seemed to find her voice again, "I, um, can't get through." Her voice was soft and you get almost hear restraint radiating from it, like she was holding her tongue.

The lump in Erik's throat became worse. Anette's quiet words pierced him, hurt him. What he had done ruined their friendship. She couldn't even look at him when she spoke. The young man's legs seemed to have lost their motivation to hold him up. His knees were starting to agree. Erik would have keeled over if Lara's voice hadn't snapped him from his pit of internal agony.

"Sorry Anette." The tone of Lara's gentle voice was enough to know that she was aware something was upsetting the mail carrier. Snow made a slight complain as she stepped off the path in order to allow Anette to walk by. Erik knew he should move, but his legs seemed to disagree with his brain.

"T-Thanks Lara." Anette's reply was even softer than her original statement. Gingerly, Anette's feet started to make her way up the path. She wasn't running like she usually did up the hill.

It took an enormous amount of effort on Erik's part to keep him from wrapping his arms around Anette's petite frame and beg for her forgiveness, but he knew that wouldn't do any good. The closer Anette got to walking past him the more Erik realized how much the atmosphere between them had changed. Instead of the warm welcoming feel of friendship cold confusion had replaced it.

Finally Anette walked past Erik and made her way to the mailbox. When Erik heard the lid close he was tempted to turn around and even block Anette's way. However Anette's now running figure raced past him and deeper into the church district before he could move.

She didn't look over her shoulder, not once.

Erik felt like crawling into a hole and dying until there was a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Erik," Lara's manner of speaking was kind, "I'm here to listen if you want to talk."

-

Danny wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand. The wet feeling that tears had left made him furious. His family needed funds; he needed to run a successful shop, and yet, all he could do was cry.

Anette never came that morning. When Danny finally decided to change something he didn't like, something he couldn't control stops him. It seemed like some greater force was trying to keep him miserable. His little sister getting sick, a rival store moving right next door, and Anette not coming into town, were those really all coincidences? Danny begged to differ as another tear slid down his cheek.

The storeowner abruptly felt very confined in the small four walls of his shop. Despite being outside for a large portion of his morning, he wanted to feel the cold winter wind whip at his face and crunch snow under his feet mercilessly.

Danny had been slouching on the front desk like he normally did. He straightened his back and gave the counter a brisk wipe with his hand. A few tears had fallen on it. His eyelids closed for moment as he realized something. Once someone has cried a good amount of tears it's easy to tell that they've been crying for a large portion of time afterward.

With a shaky sigh Danny considered this. Honestly, he wasn't fond of anyone pestering him for why he was crying, let alone any one knowing he was crying. The more he contemplated staying inside, the more he wanted to go outside.

"It's already 9:30." Danny reminded himself out loud. It was somehow comforting to hear his own voice break the silence of the shop, even if it was somewhat weak and unsteady from crying. Uzuki would have already headed to the public square and Euince would be busy in the inn. There wouldn't be anyone to bother him about his red eyes or other has-been-crying-indicating features.

Without letting himself second guess his decision Danny moved his feet quickly to the front door of his shop. As he reached for the doorknob Danny could feel the winter cold just outside the door. Gripping the knob Danny impatiently ripped the door open feeling the cold wind rush into his shop.

Ignoring everything that was wrong, Danny stood in the doorway of his shop; his eyes closed, and felt the icy breeze clear his mind. The chaos of all his problems seemed to vanish as he inhaled the chilled air.

Then Danny heard the snow complain, "_Someone's stepping on me!_"

Danny was standing in the door way of his shop, on _wood_. Wood didn't crunch, and he wasn't standing on snow. He didn't want to open his eyes. Just stepping back into his store crossed his mind. It seemed like a pretty good idea. No one would notice he was upset, he wouldn't have to answer any questions, and-

A stifled whimper interrupted the shop owner's thoughts. Danny reluctantly opened his eyes. Anette was standing next to his mailbox, like she was walking away from it, not facing him. She seemed to be looked at her feet. It seemed she hadn't even noticed Danny's presence.

It wasn't her being there that shocked Danny. The tears in her eyes were what caught his attention. They hadn't started falling down her face. Glimmering water gathering in her eyes and her lips were tightly pressed together in a very restraining manner.

Danny cleared his throat rather loudly. Looking at the Sunshine Inn, He hoped to keep Anette from seeing he had been crying.

"Danny!" Anette seemed to get higher and the blonde man could feel her eyes looking at him. Suddenly, the mail carrier became interested in her bag, rummaging through letters.

"I'm really sorry I'm late! I just-" Was all Danny heard before he tuned Anette out. She was trying to sound like her peppy self. It was easy for Danny to tell she was failing miserably. Due to not hearing the majority of Anette's words Danny replied with a quiet grunt.

"…"

When Anette didn't answer Danny forced himself to turn his face and look at her. He made sure not to say anything. She had stopped the aimless fumble in her bag and was now seemed to be staring at nothing. Slowly, the blue orbs moved, eventually meeting Danny's eyes.

"Are you okay?" Her tone was softer now. Perhaps she realized that she didn't have to act anymore.

"I could ask you the same question." Danny replied then internally winced at how cold it sounded. This was not the time to be a jerk!

A single, quiet laugh escaped Anette's lips. "Long night I guess." She shrugged her shoulders, astounding Danny that she could lift the heavy mail bag with only a shoulder.

"Hm." Danny replied. The excess liquid in Anette's eyes seemed to be receding. She looks cuter when she's happy, Danny realized. Hastily he pushed the thought away, reminding himself Anette barely considered them friends. He hoped he had managed to keep himself from blushing. He knew Anette, being the oblivious person she was, wouldn't notice, but he hoped anyways.

"I better get going." Anette said, her voice getting lighter without her having to force it. Danny assumed she was feeling better.

"You're already late enough." Danny replied, there was something about his voice. Was he teasing her? Anette couldn't help letting a grin spread across her face. He didn't seem nearly as upset as earlier.

"Whatever, talk to you later." Her voice finally returned to its normal sing-song self as Anette bounded away. The fatigue from lack of sleep seemed to have left her body. Maybe Danny wasn't just a guy who cared about being on time. He had managed to cheer her up. Anette kept the smile on her face, perhaps she should get to know him better.

Seeing that Anette's back was facing him, Danny didn't fight the blush spreading across his face. She wanted to talk to him later. Anette was interested in actually spending time with him! It might just be talking, but he didn't care! He grinned, pleased with himself.

After such an unhappy night Danny felt like he was on cloud nine. His neck didn't seem to hurt so much nor did his eyes feel so achy. Being an adult, Danny knew he still had problems to attend to. Now, though, he actually felt like he could solve them.

Stepping out onto the snow Danny listened to the satisfying crunch under his feet. He watched Anette scramble up the blacksmith stairs then looked the rival store next to his own. With a deep breath Danny finally decided. There was no point in putting it off. It was his only choice.

Ignoring the protesting snow, Danny headed towards Materia. His hands in his pocket and eyes narrowed with determination.

**Author's Note: Long enough? According to some, my chapters are a bit short so I took extra time while proof-reading to lengthen this one. What do you think is a good average length for stories? Right now I'm aiming for about two thousands words, but I would appreciate some other opinions! This update took a bit. And it wasn't the length that made it take so long. Anette felt really OOC at times so I got stuck. Relatives came to my house, cousins. I now know that they are very demanding, time consuming cousins XD Not to mention school is starting in a week and I've been pretty busy lately. Apparently beauty pageants aren't all fun, or at least looking for sponsors isn't ^^' Anyways thanks for reading and being patient with my sporadic updating!**


	9. Blush

The cheap material always irritated Rosetta's fingers. Its rough texture, slightly uneven sides, and the list could go on. Rosetta wouldn't be changing the paper any time soon though. Being the cheapest paper she could buy it increased the profit of Materia. Of course, being the saleswomen she was, making more money was of higher priority than having nice price tags.

Rosetta was holding a would-be price tag that was connected to a silver pendant. Writing the prices for her products was so boring. She would have to pick up the product, slip the tag on it and then write the actually price down. It wasn't just this that was boring about her job. Materia was usually opened for hours before someone actually came to shop. Tabatha and Eunice didn't stop by until early afternoon leaving Rosetta with a boring three hours of solitude every morning. That is unless a certain farmer decided to pay a visit…

She sighed placing the pendant on the front counter. Thinking, Rosetta recalled the look Raguna had given her earlier. Just seeing that angry look in his eyes made her scared. Not of him, it was more a fear of… Shaking her head, Rosetta leaned forward and she put her elbows on the desk, holding her head in her hands. Rosetta's peculiarly colored eyes glanced at the clock on the wall. There was no point in continuing to write price tags right now. It was barely ten. No customers would be coming for a few hours.

A soft bell chime announced the opening of the front door contradicting and surprising Rosetta.

Out of habit her back immediately straightened. Her father had often told her the appearance of the seller was what sold the product. After working the majority of her childhood in her father's shop looking official when a potential customer was around became second nature.

"Yo," A familiar voice said casually. Rosetta blinked as she realized who the voice belonged to. She folded her arms defensively and didn't try to hide the irritation that made itself at home on her face.

"Are you here to accuse me of something again?" She spoke sharply. Instead of getting a rude reply in return, Danny grinned as he walked towards the front desk. It was…unnatural, no downright creepy. Just a few hours ago this man had been as ticked as good be with her. Now he seemed to be…cheerful? What could have caused this change?

"No," Danny, who had been looking at Rosetta, now altered his gaze towards the shelves of the shop. Rosetta felt her cheeks darken. Almost none of the price tags had been filled out. As if having read her mind, Danny walked up to a shelf against the wall of the shop. He took the blank price tag of a bag of seeds between two fingers.

"It's free?" He asked and turned to Rosetta as his face twitched. Restraining laughter, Rosetta assumed as she felt anger boil within her, heating her cheeks even more. Who did Danny think he was? How dare he think of laughing at her when he had practically no business in his shop?!

"No! I just…" Rosetta trailed off, not wanting to admit her laziness to Danny.

"You just, what?" Danny seemed to be taunting her. From the expression on his face she knew he knew the answer to the question.

"I just haven't gotten around to it!" Rosetta's voice rose as she spoke, causing Danny chuckle a bit.

"W-What?!" Rosetta demanding feeling her cheeks heat up, embarrassed.

"Nothing," Danny replied letting go of the price tag and approaching the front desk. After his eyes locked with Rosetta's angry glare he decided to continue, knowing getting Rosetta mad right now would not be a good idea. "You're just…funny?" He hadn't meant for it to sound like a question.

"What's that supposed to me!?" Rosetta fumed. It seemed Danny had only succeeded in making her madder. Something in the back of his mind warned him to be ready for an attack with how mad Rosetta looked.

Slowly Rosetta's face stopped glowing red and became close to its normal shade. After Danny listened to her take a few deep breaths she spoke.

"What do you want anyways?" She turned her back to Danny, inspecting a small shelf of products that resided behind her desk. It was already embarrassing enough that it took her so long to calm down.

"Icanhelpyouwithwritingpricetags." Danny mumbled, looking at the floor as if he was angry with himself. Internally Danny was mad with himself. Swallowing his pride and asking to work here shouldn't be this hard.

Rosetta barely understood what he had said. Gingerly, she turned to look at him. She blinked, trying to make sense of the words that had just spilled from the young man's mouth. If Danny had been looking at Rosetta her confused expression would have made him laugh.

"You want to…work here?" She spoke slowly, not sure if her deduction of what Danny said was correct.

"Yeah." Danny muttered in response, deciding to keep it to himself that it was his only choice if he wanted to help his family.

The winter silence from the outdoors seemed to chill Materia, leaving both Danny and Rosetta to dwell in the lack of noise.

-

"-and then I…" Erik tugged at his farming gloves feeling uncomfortable. He was sitting on one the infirmary beds with Lara on a stool next to him, listening silently. He liked Lara. He liked her a whole lot. Sitting there, about to tell her that he kissed a different girl was making him more than uncomfortable.

"I…," Erik was struggling to continue. His throat seemed to close when he tried to speak of the event between him and Anette. It gave speechless a whole new meaning to him. Lara then placed a warm, gentle hand on his knee. The farmer looked up his gloves and at Lara.

She had her signature soft smile on her face. Only when he had passed out had he seen her without it. Instead she had been rather…upset, to put it lightly. Her thick pink hair framed her gentle face, making her light brown eyes stand out even more against her pale skin.

Right then Erik was speechless, well more speechless than he was before.

"Erik, if you feel bad about what happened you should apologize. I know it will make you feel better." Lara spoke softly, her eyes glancing at Erik's gloves for a moment and then locking with his. Looking into Lara's eyes Erik felt as if he could almost do anything, almost. It still seemed his throat was refusing to let him speak.

He settled for a nod as a response instead.

"I suppose we should both get back to work then." Lara sighed gently. Erik couldn't tell if she was disappointed or tired. Guilt twisted his belly at the thought that listening to him talk might have made Lara tired.

"Y-Yeah." The brunette farmer finally managed to speak again. He stood slowly, his legs having partially fallen asleep after sitting still for so long. Erik turned to his left so he could walk down the small path between the two beds in the infirmary to leave. It wasn't what he was expecting to see that Lara hadn't move from where she stood.

"Erik, I-I don't like seeing you like you were this morning." Lara's voice was even softer than normal. The soft creak that the bed made when Erik had gotten up off it would have been enough to make the nurse's voice inaudible.

"I'm sorry." Erik apologized, feeling guilt once again twist at his insides. He had done something Lara didn't like even after she had bothered to listen to him whine. It was almost enough the make him want to crawl back into his bed and hide under the covers like a scolded child going to bed without dinner on their own free will.

"You don't need to apologize!" Lara explained her eyes widening suddenly. "It's just that I want you to be happy." She explain, her eyes returning to their normal state. Erik saw Lara's cheeks turn pink, the same shade of pink they had been outside when he had bumped into her. It didn't take long for Erik to realize his cheeks were tinting red, also.

-

Anette grinned contently with each crunch the snow made under her quick moving feet. As she trotted down the blacksmith stairs she was so absorbed in her little snow game that she didn't notice Eunice in the doorway of the Sunshine Inn.

"Hi Anette!" Eunice called cheerfully as the mail carrier reached the bottom of the stairs. It was only then that Anette noticed her. She stopped running and instead walked up the few steps in front of the Sunshine Inn to speak with her friend.

"Hey Eunice," Anette grinned warmly over her shoulder as she approached the mail box. Eunice eye's were bright as she looked over her friend. Her gaze dwindled on Annette's cheek.

"The scrape you got from when you fell is healing nicely." She commented. Anette raised her hand to touch her cheek. She had honestly forgotten all about it.

"Yeah, I guess it is!" Exclaimed the smaller of the two women as she slipped the designated mail into the red box.

"Anette? Could you come in here for a sec?" A voice called from the inside of the Sunshine Inn. Anette waved good bye to Eunice and walked into the inn.

Rita was standing in the middle of the lobby. She was looking at something above the door. As Anette entered she was painfully conscience that her snow soaked shoes were leaving wet marks in the carpet. Just for a moment, Rita looked at Anette then went back to looking at whatever was above the door on the wall. The older women signaled for Anette to look where she was looking.

Anette walked deeper into the building, hoping the squish of the moisture from her shoes against the carpet was just her imagination. She turned around and looked above the door. An incredibly detailed oil painting was hanging there.

"What do you think? I bought it from Lute the other day and have been trying to decide where to hang it." Rita explained while her hand was wrapped around her chin in an inquisitive manner. Anette squinted her eyes at painting. It was of a large building with lush trees surrounding it acting almost like a canopy to a small path leading from the house down and hill. Tall grass was growing along the path and seemed to be blowing in the wind making it cast shadows on the grass around.

The building in the painting seemed familiar... Was it all the detail put into it that made it seem real? No, Anette was almost certain she had walked on the path before.

"Is it Bianca's mansion?" Anette asked, having a feeling that she was right.

"Hm, I guess it is! Really I only bought it because I liked it." Rita confessed with a laugh still looking at the painting.

"There so much detail!" Anette exclaimed, " I wonder how long Lute must have been looking at Tabatha's and Bianca's home."

Rita laughed knowingly. It confused Anette. "He does seem to enjoy spending his time there. Anyways, last night I noticed something going on at your table in the bar…" The married woman raised her eyebrow, expecting Anette to tell the story.

Instead Anette couldn't find the power to spread her lips apart as her cheeks darkened.

"Something with Erik, maybe?" Rita suggested as Anette's embarrassed expression made her laugh. Hearing her stomach growl, Anette used it as an opportunity to leave.

"Uh, I'm having, er, brunch with a friend! Look at the time I better get going!" With that Anette scampered off running as fast as if she was on her delivery route, knowing the last place she was going to go was the house of her snack supplying friend.

**Author's Note: Goodness, I wrote this all in one sitting and it took me about 3 hours O.O I'm willing to sacrifice my free time after doing my homework in order to update for you guys, see how much I love you? =3 Just kidding, I still have homework and used this as something to procrastinate XD And yeah, I'm back in school. I'm currently in eighth grade at a totally new middle school. It's sad. They closed the one I attended 6****th**** and 7****th**** grade at so know next to nobody at this one.*cough* The beginning of the chapter is probably my favorite part of this entire story. Seriously, Rosetta and Danny are so much to write about! Not necessarily in a romantic way, mind you. Actually I don't really like how the chapter continues after the Danny and Rosetta part. I felt like I lost my mojo or something XD Anywho I hope I made who Lute likes more clear ^^ In fact I'm hoping to write more about it. Oh and, how was the ErikxLara? Good? Bad? It seemed a little fluffy on Lara's part in my opinion ._. Thanks for reading! Next update…hm, I'll get back to you on that! I gotta do my algebra homework now!**


	10. Odd

A number of moments passed before human nature chased the silence of winter away, leaving the two young individuals free to speak once more. If each of their thoughts were audible it would have been as noisy as a crowd at a festival. As the majority of humans know, however, thoughts are silent, and so was the room, despite the welcoming void ready to be filled with dialog.

Danny unclenched then clenched his fists relentlessly as he stared at the floor, not knowing what answer to expect from Rosetta. She, on the other hand, remained almost completely still, the business portion of her nature obviously taking over. Her eyes seemed to zone in onto the front counter. Her lips moved without sound, as if doing a math problem in her head. Finally, Rosetta looked up. Danny could only feel her gaze on him, not bringing himself to look up from the much more familiar floor.

"Why?" Rosetta asked incredulously. Danny released a much needed sigh. Apparently he had been holding his breath. Forcing himself to straighten his neck, he looked at his possibly future boss. Her brow was slightly bent and her lips were twisted in a way Danny had never seen before. It was like she was eating something sour and if she made a funny face she would have to do something humiliating.

"Because I want to." Danny snorted, seeing Rosetta's cautious face seemed to give him more confidence. Reacting to Danny's confidence, Rosetta resumed her defensive position, arms crossed over her torso and a challenging smirk on her face.

"Fine be that way. Tomorrow, eight thirty sharp." Rosetta commanded. Danny frowned. That's when Anette stopped by his mailbox. He wouldn't be able to wait for her if he was going to get to work on time.

"…All right." Danny grumbled as he left the store.

"And be ready to work!" Rosetta called as Danny exited through the doorway.

When the door shut, Rosetta let a small grin appear on her face. She was going to be the boss!

-

"You can do this. You can do this." Erik mumbled to himself and he walked down the narrow path between Bianca's mansion and Kross's home. A loud thump made him jump. The young farmer looked over his shoulder to see Kross on the roof of his home with nails between his teeth and a hammer in his hand. It seemed to Erik that the carpenter worked on his roof every other day.

"You'd figure a carpenter would be able to fix his roof faster." He grumbled, irritated with himself that something as simple as a hammer had startled him.

"Did you say something?"

Erik turned so he was facing forward, wanted to see who spoke to him, instead found himself nose to nose with a wolf with nasty breath.

"Ah! Monster, g-get away!" The monster tilted its head confused as Erik tired to jump back and away from it resulting in the famer landing on his rear in a show drift. Wincing in pain, Erik blocked his face in effort to protect himself.

"Don't worry, Erik," The voice had obvious humor in it, "Wolfe wouldn't hurt you."

Cautiously opening his eyes, Erik saw who had spoke.

"Raguna?" A man was getting off the monster.

"Yeah, sorry Erik. I didn't mean to startle you." Raguna spoke as he walked towards where Erik sat in the snow. He held out his hand. Erik took it. Sitting in the wet snow was not very fun.

Raguna expected Erik to deny being startled but, much to his surprise, he didn't.

"Have you seen Anette?" Erik asked abruptly after getting up. His gaze switched between Raguna and the panting wolf.

"She was leaving the business district after finishing her mail route…Why?" Raguna answered in a confused tone. Erik clenched his teeth together. Since Anette wouldn't be on her route anymore she could go anywhere in town, or even leave town if she wanted to. He'd have to get to the business district quickly if he was going to catch her.

"Uh, no reason, thanks!" Not wanting to explain himself Erik took off at a brisk jog. He took special care to run a little faster when he got closer to the wolf.

"O..kay?" Raguna responded as Erik ran off. Shrugging, Raguna mounted his wolf and headed towards the carpentry.

-

Anette sighed, "Some milk would be really good right about now…" With her mail bag now relatively light, Anette was able to put her hands behind her head and interlock the fingers as she stepped down the concrete stairs towards the bath house.

She had run around for a few hours on her mail route. It took her a little longer than usual because Rita had invited her inside the inn. Not having the mail to think about, Anette realized something a little out of the ordinary. On the back of her neck she could feel a small amount of wet sweat, but the cold winter winds made the back of her neck feel cold. It was like she was too hot, but too cold at the same time. Huh, how odd.

Anyways, after the awkward encounter with Erik and Lara, Anette's deliveries had gone on as usual. And, also as usual, Anette's stomach growled.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Anette noticed Melody slipping the letters from inside her mailbox into her large fuchsia coat pocket.

"Hey Melody!" Anette called as she approached the bathhouse owner.

"Hiya Anette! How are you this morning?" Melody responded with a quick wave in Anette's direction.

Seeing Melody made a light bulb go off for Anette. She had been meaning to ask Melody something for a while now!

"I'm good, just a little tired." She replied, "Tired enough that I could enjoy a nice hot bath…" Anette trailed off, looking at Melody with a pleading look similar to a puppy dog.

"Sorry Anette! The bath is closed until three, no exceptions! Plus…" Melody put her hand against her cheek and learned closer to Anette, as if to tell her a secret.

-

_Hurry! Hurry! Faster! _

Erik suddenly stopped his mad sprint when he entered the business district. His head swung from side to side looking for Anette. Looking for her was the only thing he was concentrating on. It was obvious he wasn't concentrating on keeping his balance because where Erik decided to stop was on some of the wet, slick concrete in the industry neighborhood.

Normally, Erik is relatively good at keeping his balance. It's one of the pluses of the manual labor that one must do while being a farmer. Today, early as it was, seemed to already be proving to be a little un-ordinary.

He slipped and flat on his back knocking all the air out of him.

"O-ow…"

Concrete hurts a bit more than a snow drift.

The fall seemed to knock more sense into Erik for he got up slowly. He could probably find Anette quicker if he fell less. Resisting the urge to rub his now hurting back, Erik made his way to the center of the business district.

"So you wouldn't even want to take a bath!" Melody's voice rang from the east side of the business district making Erik turn his head. His eyes brightened at what he saw. Anette was laughing with Melody right in front of the bathhouse.

Melody's laughing slowed and she seemed to be looking at something behind Anette. Being the curios person she was, Anette turned around to see Erik running in their direction.

She honestly considered spinning around and running off in the other direction. Looking at Erik, she knew she could out run him easily. Something, who knows what, made Anette stay put even when her stomach twisted uncomfortably when Erik spoke.

"I've been-" He took a moment to take a breath that sounded suspiciously like a pant,"-looking for you." Erik had slowed down once he made his way down the stairs on the path that went right in front of the bathhouse. When he was standing within normal conversing distance of Anette Erik partially bent over, making him closer to Anette's height but still a good deal taller. His hands were on his knees and he let his head sag forward, taking deep breaths.

It took him a second to catch his breath. This second was very long for Anette.

After what Anette that was an eternity Erik finally stood up. He cleared his throat and looked at anything and everything except Anette.

"I-I…" Anette listened to Erik stutter while she watched his face. His brow was furrowed, like he was trying to remember something.

"I want to apologize about last night." It was a blunt statement. In his fit of panic Erik had verbalized the phrase Lara had used as an example of how he could explain he was sorry to Anette.

"Oh…" Anette replied, straining her throat in her attempt to sound like her usually cheery self. Without thinking Anette's right hand started tugging at the tip of her right braid. It was an old habit that she could never grow out of. She never wanted to grow out of it. Her hand would only pull on her braid when she felt uncomfortable; it just made her feel better. When Anette was younger and her teachers would nag her about tugging her hair during presentations so she learned a way to defend her habit. If you already have to do something you don't like, you might as well do something you like while doing it to balance it out. Her teachers would just sigh and roll their eyes, but it made perfect sense to Anette.

"Oh?" Erik repeated, blinking in confusion. Lara had told him about possible responses that he could expect from Anette, but this wasn't one she covered.

Anette pressed her lips together. Her friend was looking at her like a lost puppy. A very sad, sorry, lost puppy. The tip of Erik's lip was frowning in confusion, his light brown eyes were very slightly narrowed in a puzzled way, and the chill of winter gave his cheeks a flushed look.

"It's…" Anette was looking at her feet and her voice had dropped to a little more than a whisper, "…okay." She pulled harder than usual on her braid. It hurt a little.

-

Danny lay on his back in his bed sprawled out his hands and feet hanging over the edges. His stomach complained loudly. Sadly Danny glanced across the room. A small kitchen stood in the corner. Danny couldn't cook. He almost never used the kitchen except to store food that he could just eat. His storage cupboards were all open exposing their bare shelves.

His stomach growled again. Danny was hungry and there wasn't any food in his house. There wasn't any money in his possession therefore he had no potential to buy food either.

The young man sighed and went back to staring at the ceiling. He wouldn't die if he didn't eat today, but he wouldn't be very happy either. If he waited he could probably mooch some food out of Rosetta when he went to work the next day. Then again, Rosetta being who she was, she would probably deduce it from his first pay check.

That was something Danny couldn't afford at the moment. There had to be somewhere that he could get a free snack. Leaving his legs stretched out, Danny pulled his arms back in so he could rub his temples. Massaging this area of his head had always stimulated Danny's memory. Hopefully he might remember something that could lead to a snack.

Being hungry made Danny struggle to concentrate. Instead of looking through food related memories, his mind wandered.

He thought about his family. How were his younger siblings doing? Danny would have to wait for their next letter to know. When another pang of hunger hit him, Danny's thoughts went in another direction. Today had been one of the few good mornings with Anette. He could only remember a handful of other mornings when he felt that Anette enjoyed his presence.

Danny smiled slightly at the memory. Anette had been in an exceptionally good mood, even for herself, and given Danny his mail by hand instead of putting it in his mailbox. It was the physical touch of her hand against him that made the memory so sweet.

What had put Anette in such a good mood anyway? Danny's thoughts dove deeper into the memory. Someone had given her something. It had been free and Danny didn't actually get to see it.

Licking his lips Danny remembered something else. It had been edible.

Fruit! That's what it was. Danny clearly recalled Anette telling him how…Tabatha gave her some of the extra fruit that she had picked! Picked from…from…the mountain trees? He wasn't sure.

Swinging his legs off his bed and sitting up, Danny grinned triumphantly. If Tabatha did get the fruit that she gave Anette from the mountains Danny might be able to find some fruit to eat there too. He had a lead.

-

Before Anette could look up she felt Erik's oddly wet arms around her. Something was off. Normally she enjoyed hugs from Erik, but now she wanted to squirm and get out of his grasp. It wasn't possible that she was still made at him for the previous night. He apologized and Anette knew that grudgers were only trouble.

It was confusing. Anette heard Melody's voice, but couldn't comprehend what she said. Then she heard Erik spoke and as he did Anette felt his arms loosen. She took the opportunity to take a step backwards, away from Erik.

She then lifted her head to see Erik conversing with Melody. Her ears didn't seem to want to listen to their conversation. Instead they tuned in on another sound. A squeaky door had opened further into the business district. Anette couldn't see which one.

"Hey, um, I'll see you guys later. There's something I want to look at." Anette spoke in her normal and forced a grin onto her face. Melody and Erik turned their heads to her. Melody nodded a farewell. Anette was about to start walking towards the squeak.

"Oh, hold on, tomorrow," Erik looked in Anette's eyes as he spoke to her, "I'll have a little surprise for you."

"Great, t-thanks." Anette replied then she hastily turned and headed deeper into the business district.

Feeling the familiar burn of her muscles working as she trotted up the steps made Anette relax. It was something steadfast. Something that would never change and knowing that comforted Anette.

"I thought you were finished with your mail route." Danny's voice made Anette stop running. She turned to see him in front of his shop, the door to it squeaked loudly as it closed.

"Yeah, but I heard a squeak and came to see what it was." Anette confessed. She felt more like her normal self now that she wasn't near Erik. Danny opened his mouth to respond, but his stomach growled loudly instead.

Anette giggled. Danny swallowed. It felt like she was laughing at him. He didn't like it. As Danny walked past Anette in the direction of the southern district he replied with a grunt.

"W-Wait! Where are you going?" Anette asked quickly. Had she done something wrong? Danny seemed upset.

"The mountains." Danny responded simply, not bother to turn back or stop walking. He still sounded mad. Anette knew if she let him walk off she would never get over the guilt of being the one who made him mad. She had to do something!

"Hang on! I want to come, too!" Anette called. Hastily she followed him.

-

**Author's Note: I'm sorry… This update took longer than expected. Hopefully it's enjoyable. There are a lot of itty-bitty hints in this chapter about what's going to happen in future chapters so I'm hoping that added a nice little touch or that it was at least noticeable ^^' Again, I'm really sorry and thanks a ton for taking the time to still read this fic. **


	11. Hiking

It was awkward. Wait, no, correction, he felt awkward. The lack of conversation didn't seem to bother Anette. It made Danny's eyebrow twitch. The path was clear of most of the snow allowing the two young adults' footsteps to be rather quiet.

Anette walked slightly behind Danny, but still beside him along the steep mountain path. She would occasionally glance up at him. He was a little shorter than Erik, but still at least six inches taller than Anette. Mentally, Anette cringed. Why was she comparing Danny to Erik? She pushed the thought away and decided to dwell on the fact that she was still so much shorter than Danny.

Danny felt Anette's oversized coat brush against his arm every step. Part of the way Danny walked was with his arms. He would gently swing them with every footstep. Each time he let his arm swing back Anette seemed to be stepping forward making her coat barely rub against his arm. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

He wanted to tell her to leave him alone. She had just started following him after laughing at him. Something, he didn't know what, made him keep his mouth shut. Another something made him keep his eyes facing forward, even when he felt Anette's gaze burn into him.

After another minute of hiking up the mountain the silence started getting on Anette's nerves. She looked up at Danny again and frowned. This was the same guy that talked to her happily earlier, yet now he looked like an upset statue. He hadn't even looked at her once! There had to be something she could do to at least get a reaction out of him.

Anette almost sighed out loud. She could almost hear her brain hiss like a flame after a big bucket of water was dumped on it. No ideas came to mind. Maybe just staring at him would be enough…

The burn on Danny's cheek got hotter and hotter. Anette was staring at him and knew it as much as he knew that water was wet. Suddenly his hunger-strained limbs seemed to be bothered a lot more by the walking. He felt an ache in his knees and his leg muscles tightening painfully. Was that sweat he felt on the back of his neck?

Even while staring at Danny, Anette was able to continue walking with ease. The terrain on the mountain side was a little alien, but the very active mail-girl had a pair of feet and legs she could take pride in. It allowed her to keep her attention completely focused on Danny and not the ground.

She couldn't help but notice that he was sweating. Anette had no idea that Danny was this out of shape. Then again maybe he was in shape, but this path was just really steep. Yeah, she'd go with that.

The path started turning and becoming thinner. Danny continued forward, still not sparing Anette even a glance. Due to the decreasing thickness of the path, Anette was forced to fall in step behind Danny.

Her lack of height irritated her. She couldn't see anything besides Danny's back! Internally sighing once more, Anette continued to follow him, regardless. His silence was only more evidence that he was still mad.

Now that she was walking behind him it was even easier for him to ignore her. Anette, accepting that she was unable to much action in her current position, decided to look around at the mountain scenery.

The tops of leafless trees were about eye-level with Anette when she looked to the right. She couldn't help but notice that sharp drop on that side of the mountain path. The mail carrier had never realized how tall the mountain actually was. Plus being able to see the tops of trees was, sadly, a new experience for her.

A sharp howl made Anette snap her head to the left. The entrance of a large gaping cave loomed on the left side of the path. It practically screamed that large dangerous monsters were residing just beyond the entrance.

Danny had turned to see where the howl had come from also. His breath caught in his throat. Fighting monsters was not something he had ever wanted to do.

A seemingly kicked pebble skidded out of the entrance. Something was exiting the cave. Anette and Danny stood wide-eyed and paralyzed, afraid of what they were about to see.

"What are howling about, Wolfe?" A voice mumbled softly as the supposed "monster" exited the cave. It had a shaggy silver coat with tints of blue and the sharp muzzle that made it appear to be some sort of canine. Anette blinked in confusion as she noticed what was on the monster's back. Small bundles of wood were tied securely to its body with string.

As Anette continued to gawk at the monster, Danny noticed something else exit the cave. His pounding heartbeat started to slow as he sighed in relief.

"Geez, Raguna…" Being faced with danger, than realizing it was just a misunderstanding made Danny feel a little less grouchy. Anette looked up from the wolf to see Raguna, also carrying a bundle of wood tied with string on his shoulder.

"Sorry," Raguna apologized, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand, "Wolfe just feels a little vulnerable when he carrying so much stuff. He didn't mean any harm." The farmer grinned sheepishly. Scaring people had not been on his list of things to do today.

Danny could feel his stomach getting more passionate about getting some food. The tree orchard had to be somewhere close by…

"Well okay, see you around." Shrugging, Danny mumbled a curt goodbye before heading up the mountain path once again. It was obvious to Anette and Raguna that he wanted to get going.

Anette looked at Raguna, "Yeah, bye Raguna." She smiled with a small wave and trotted off after Danny.

Raguna watched the two for a moment with a puzzled expression on his face. When did they become such good friends? Had he missed something?

"Eh, whatever." Raguna had more important things to worry about, "C'mon Wolfe. We almost have enough for that house extension…" The farmer's excitement was almost as obvious as the smile on his face.

-

"Finally!" Danny sighed. He wasn't going to be able to hike much longer with such an appetite. A small orchard of trees stood in small open meadow like area. On one side the mountain stood tall and strong, still towering over Danny and Anette's heads, and around the majority of the other side were tall rocks. There was a small gap between the mountainside and wall of rocks. This was the only way in and out of the small, relatively secret area.

The trees themselves were relatively large. The harsh cold of winter made them appear smaller, with their thin leaves and sickly looking bark. Crisp, dark red apples, that were a little on the small side, hung from the branches.

Danny eagerly walked through the small opening in the rocks and underneath one of the trees. He eagerly reached up for an apple only to find that….

He couldn't reach.

Anette had to bite her tongue to keep herself from giggling. Danny jumped, stomped his feet, muttered crude things about the tree, and almost everything else he could do to try and get the apple. Even when his fingers scraped the apple he could never get a good enough grip to yank it off of the tree. Danny's cheeks were beet red from a mixture of being out of breath and frustration.

"Darn it! I'm…" Danny added some creative adverbs between breathes, "…hungry!"

It was like a light bulb being turned on. Anette almost had to snap her fingers at the brilliance of it. If she could help Danny get some of the apples he would be in a better mood which would make up for her making him upset earlier! Now she just had to figure out how to help him…

"Hey Danny…" Anette walked into the small orchard. Danny looked at her with an irritated glare.

"What? Do you want to laugh at me some more?" He muttered rudely.

"N-No! Of course not Danny!" Anette stuttered, surprised by his rudeness. "I was just going to offer to help you!"

Danny blinked. He hadn't expected the girl to put up with him. He scowled. By accepting her help he would lose his pride.

"C'mon! You're hungry aren't you?" Anette urged.

"Fine." Danny muttered before his stomach could do the talking for him. "What do you have in mind?"

"Uh…" Anette held her chin in her hand, thinking hard. Danny sighed, annoyed. She shouldn't have offered to help without actually having a plan.

"Put me on your shoulders! I'll be able to grab a few of the apples." Anette ordered. Her eyes seemed to burn with determination as she looked straight into Danny's narrowed ones.

"W-What?!" Danny asked incredulously. He couldn't…

"I'm not that heavy! Come on." Anette couldn't help adding a bit of a pout to her tone. Danny felt heat rush to his cheeks because of the way Anette was staring at him. He cleared his throat uneasily.

"I-It's not that you're heavy…" Danny stuttered, but Anette was already climbing onto one of the many rocks. He watched her climb from one rock to another until she was satisfied with the height she had reached.

"Anette…" Danny sounded almost as if she he was whining. He walked up next to the rock Anette was standing on. In all honesty, he couldn't claim that he was particularly worried about her. Danny would bet a fair amount of gold, if he had any, that if Anette were to fall from the rock she was currently standing on she'd land gracefully on her feet. Kind of like a cat.

"Danny, turn around." Anette ordered, looking down at him intently. Danny faked a cough to cover up the grumble of his stomach. He obediently turned around. He heard Anette's heavy jacket scrape against the ground as she sat down.

"Back up a little bit…" She continued. Danny took a step backwards only to feel the cold rock through his shirt. Then, Anette's warm knees were suddenly on his shoulders. Out of habit from carrying his little siblings, Danny wrapped his hands around her ankles.

"Now to the tree!" Anette exclaimed. Danny took a step forward only to find Anette's added weight caught him slightly off guard. With a surprised squeak Anette's arms were around Danny's head. Her large sleeved jacket now hung in his face, not allowing him to see anything.

It smelled really good. The young man had no idea clothes were capable of smelling this good. The fabric was soft against nose and enthralled his senses with every breath. It reminded him of a clean, unopened letter with a surprising fresh outdoorsy tang to it.

"Anette…" Danny grumbled, regaining his balancing.

"Oh," Anette exclaimed, embarrassed about the fact she was unconsciously blinding Danny. "M-My bad…" She moved her hands so they were resting on top of Danny's head. His blonde hair felt…What's the word…fluffy?

Yes, the short wavy hair felt almost feathery under her hands. It felt clean too. Almost like the time she ran into a young wooly on her mail route. The little monster's wool was soft and fun to touch. Not being able to resist, Anette allowed her finger to twirl one of Danny's blonde strands.

She was playing with his hair. Playing with it! Danny was starting to feel light headed and his face burn more than he ever felt before. Focusing back on his original goal, Danny forced himself to walk under one of the trees that were holding fruit. He tilted his head back to try and look up into the tree. His eyes couldn't see straight. Danny's brain was far too occupied with the fact he had just moved his head right into Anette's torso.

He snapped his head back forward at a speed that made it hurt a little.

"S-Sorry!"

Anette smiled and looked down at Danny, taking special care not to laugh. Apparently, Danny could be a gentleman when he wanted to. Looking down, made Anette realize how high up she was. She looked around, enjoying the view of being at least a foot taller.

"Hey uh…" Danny mumbled. He let go of one of Anette's ankles to signal up to one of the apples. Anette blinked, before she realized what he was trying to say.

"Oh yeah! Heh…" Anette smiled sheepishly. She reached up and was able to get a sold grip on one of the many apples. She gave it a soft tug, it barely moved. Furrowing her brow, Anette tugged on the apple again.

"These things are really stuck on this tree!" Danny didn't reply. He had to focus on Anette's shifting weight unless he wanted to lose his balance again.

Anette tightened her grip on an apple with both her hands, and then with all her strength she pulled. At first nothing seemed to happen. The apple still hung on the tree, not even noticing the human yanking on him. Then bang, there was a loud crack of the apples steam snapping off the tree branch.

Anette toppled backward. She tightened her legs around Danny's shoulders, desperate not to fall on her head. All she achieved was pulling Danny down with her. Thankfully, Anette's legs loosened halfway through the fall, or else Danny would have been in a relatively…ah, awkward position. In the end, Danny ended up landing on his rear while Anette was flat on her back behind him, apple in hand.

Danny turned around and looked at Anette with an incredulous expression on his face. When Anette sat up and saw his face she had to hold her breath to see how he would react. She honestly couldn't tell from his expression.

Danny's gaze stayed focus on Anette. Her hat had fallen off, revealing a messy mop of dark, slightly reddish blonde hair pulling sloppily into two braids that stuck out in almost every direction possible with the consideration of gravity. A few strands of grass mingled in her hair along with a small speck of dirt on her cheek.

He couldn't help but laugh. Seeing him laugh made Anette have to laugh, too.

They barely heard the quiet crunch of dead grass under someone else's feet. Someone else who was coming to the orchard to pick some apples.

-

**Author's Note: -dies- This was a surprising hard chapter to write. At times I literally felt that I was just banging my fists against the keyboard at random. It actually crossed my mind to restart it more than once, but I knew that I would end up writing basically the same thing… So, uh, there's plenty of Anette and Danny time in this chapter. Also I hope what Raguna's up to is sparking some interest. And…well I've had an idea floating around in my head about narrating this fic. As in, I'd get some people to voice act the characters and I'd read every else. I thought it would be pretty neat and just fun to do, but I dunno =/ Oh and, while I was writing this I mentally pictured some adorable DannyxAnette fan art of Anette sitting on Danny's shoulders playing with his hair… Maybe I'll try drawing it sometime… Thanks for reading once again! **

**Oh yeah, I think it's funny how Danny still hasn't gotten anything to eat yet X3**


	12. Exposure

She was so pretty. The way pale blue hair delicately framed her face. Her tan skin seemed to glow against the eggshell bonnet on her head while her amazing sapphire eyes glistened with more peace and compassion than Lute had ever seen in his life. Even the way she carried herself was breath taking. While carrying a large basket on her hip she was able to gracefully walk down the hill in front of the Saint-Coquille mansion.

"Good morning Lute." Tabatha greeted the traveling merchant warmly as she approached him.

"H-Hello Tabatha, are you ready?" Lute stuttered, gripping his cart a little tighter for comfort. The elf smiled at him, with a meek nod.

Yesterday Lute had ran into to Tabatha as he was preparing to leave town to start his usual travels. Unfortunately, Lute wasn't feeling his best after the entire mess with Erik and Danny and Tabatha happened to notice. Worried for his safety and welfare, as any caring person like Tabatha would be, she suggested that Lute put off leaving town until the following day. Lute knew that he need to get to his next town soon or else he wouldn't make his minimum quota. As a solution, Tabatha explained that she could use his service the following day, which she would pay for. Now it was the next day, and Lute was attempting to keep himself calm. Being able to spend time with Tabatha used to be something that he only dreamed about.

Lute had traveled all around the country. He saw many places and people, but something about Trampoli seemed to beg him to stay. It may have been the family like atmosphere of the entire town, or the beautiful sceneries that inspired him to draw. A strange feeling in his stomach though seemed to argue that perhaps Tabatha had something to do with it, too.

"I was hoping we could go to the Cornocopia trees and pick some apples." Tabatha explained, signally with her free hand at the path that led up to the mountain. "With your help I should be able to get enough of them in only one trip." She added. The elf seemed to be excited about only having to take one strenuous trip to the orchard.

It made her seem more human. Lute relaxed. His grip on his cart lessened a bit. Tabatha noticed his reaction and smiled shyly. "It gives me more time to prepare them for Bianca. She really likes many apple desserts."

Lute returned the smile, genuinely. He knew no other way to. "Perhaps it's the dedication of the cook that makes them taste so good." Only after the words left his mouth did Lute realize how cheesy they sounded. Even against Tabatha's tan skin, Lute thought he might've seen a blush. The painter pushed the thought to the back of his mind. It wasn't possible. Nope. She was out way too far out of his league for that.

"So, uh, shall we get going?" His eyes locked with Tabatha's as he spoke. They soften as she nodded her head. Out of who-knows-what-kind-of-insanity, Lute offered an arm to Tabatha. In all his travels, he had become accustomed to pushing his relatively small cart with only one hand. She took it. It made a warm sensation rush through his veins, a sensation he could very well get used to. They began to head towards their destination.

-

Danny was a different person when he laughed. When Anette initially fell a sick feeling overcame her because was afraid Danny would be angry. He was already grumpy enough as is, falling wouldn't brighten his mood at all.

When they both managed to sit up, she felt his eyes on her. It made Anette painfully aware of her fallen hat and the absolute mess of hair that was now fully exposed. She looked right back at him not knowing what kind of expression to put on her face. He looked straight back at her with another blank expression.

It all started in the corner of his eyes. Anette saw something, almost like a shine, or dare she say twinkle. Then, it spread down his face, his cheeks tightening and his lips giving a twitch. Finally it reached his throat and voice. Only a restrained chuckled was released at first which caused Anette to start to smile. Her smile seemed to trigger his full laughter bringing Anette's along with it.

It felt good to laugh. Danny hadn't enjoyed the simple pleasure in what felt like weeks between his financial situation, family concerns, and the whole mess with Erik and Anette. The common action seemed to make everything else feel far away. Seeing Anette laughing made it feel even further.

Eventually the two were able to calm themselves.

"Hey," Danny spoke first, facing Anette with a grin on his features, "Let me have that apple. I'm still starving." Anette had to look in her hand to remember the small fruit was still in her possession. With a smile she easily tossed it to him. Danny caught it with equal ease.

Before Danny could even sink his teeth into his hard earned treat, Anette's gaze looked past him at something. She looked surprised. As he turned his head to see what in the world she was staring at, someone spoke.

"W-What are you guys doing here?" Lute's face was flushed, his cheeks matching the wine-color of his eyes. On his cart was Tabatha's large basket, while Tabatha stood as her usual composed self next to the painter. Danny cocked an eyebrow at the sight of her arm around Lute's in a very formal like manner. Like a knight escorting royalty. Actually, Danny decided after glancing at Lute for another moment, it was more like a joker escorting royalty.

Anette barely noticed Lute. Tabatha looked so…beautifully perfect. Even after a climb up the mountain she retained her signature grace. With the addition of a man on her arm… The mail carrier almost wanted to whine in frustration. Anette had just sat on her butt laughing looking like a total mess. Why couldn't she be as tall and elegant as Tabatha?

"Eating an apple," Danny voice reached Anette's ears. He accented his point by taking a bite out of the fruit. "What are you doing?" He asked Lute with his mouth partially full of apple. Something in Danny's tone made Anette's cheek feel warm. W-what was he trying to imply?!

Anyone could see the gears turning in Lute's head as attempted to think of a response while his cheeks only turned darker. Tabatha gave a short glance at him. She casually pulled her arm to her side and spoke. "We've come to pick some fruit." Her voice was even and calm as if Lute wasn't turning into a tomato beside her.

Danny couldn't help but give a tiny smirk. Laughing and then finally getting some food really put him in a good mood. Not to mention Lute's humorous display. Lunch and a show, completely free of charge.

"Well, don't let us stop you." Danny replied, standing up. Anette sat there watching him, secretly waiting for him to offer her his hand to help her up. He glanced, and after a moment had a questioning look in his eyes. "Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"

"N-No!" Anette hadn't meant to snap. She stood up briskly. What was she thinking? Danny had asked the question sincerely and innocently. Anette knew this, but she had still been rude. She wanted to go hide under her bed covers and not come out for a few years.

Danny blinked, also surprised by Anette's response. Was it something he said…? Meanwhile, Tabatha stepped forward and approached one of the trees. "Lute, bring the cart this way." She called, hoping to distract Lute from being too embarrassed.

"Okay." Lute replied enthusiastically while he pushed the cart and basket under the tree next to Tabatha. Danny turned his attention to the two. He wondered how they were planning to get the stubborn fruit down.

Looking up at the apples, Tabatha placed a hand on the rough tree bark. She reached her hand up. It was still about a foot below the fruit. The elf's other hand continued to rest on the tree. It seemed almost like a touch of affection. Lute held his breath, completely absorbed. He had heard about the deep connection elves had with nature. Danny watched, taking another bite of his apple and chewing. What was supposed to happen?

The wind seemed to whisper something that Danny didn't catch, and the apple fell off the branch effortlessly into Tabatha's hand. Smiling contently she looked at Lute and placed the fruit in the large basket. His crimson eyes were wide in admiration.

"That was amazing Tabatha! I had heard in my travels that…" Danny didn't bother following the conversation of his obviously love struck friend. He turned back to Anette, who looked like she was about to cry.

"Anette, are you okay?" The shopkeeper asked cautiously, not wanted to upset her. She seemed fine before Tabatha and Lute had come.

"A-ah, I'm fine." Anette responded, blinking as if she was snapping out of a trance. She reassured her new friend with a smile. It was forced, but a smile nonetheless. Satisfied, Danny glanced over his shoulder at Tabatha and Lute and then turned back to Anette. She was holding her hat in one hand and was tugging on a braid with the other.

Danny was still hungry, but he'd rather starve than put up with Lute when he was like this. There was another group of Cornocopia trees near the lake, but he'd still need Anette's help to get any of the apples down. Making up his mind quickly, Danny decided what he needed to do.

"Hey, uh," Danny scratched the back on his neck casually. What he intended to do seemed to go much smoother in his head. "Do you want to head down to the lake with me?" He looked at Anette. She looked at him with an unreadable expression. Danny felt his stomach twist. If she said no then he knew that he would have to go hungry, but the fact that she had said no would leave an even worse feeling in the young man. A feeling he hadn't completely come to understand.

"S-sure…" Anette finally replied, the same forced smile on her face.

-

A soft bell chimed, signally someone entered the shop. Rosetta stood at one of the shelves, writing down the prices on the blank product labels. The same blank labels that had caused her so much trouble with Danny in the morning. She knew she could have left them alone and have Danny do the annoying task instead, but the perfectionist in her jut wouldn't allow the chore to go undone.

"Welcome to Mater-" Rosetta began to greet as she turned to the front door of her shop. Her expression went from welcoming to disgust faster than someone could say "Gold."

"Rosetta! You left so quickly from Kardia I had trouble tacking you down! How could you ever plan to live without me around?" The young man speaking winked one of his murky brown green eyes. He sported an odd shaped hat and staff-like stick while he wore traveling garbs, complete with a small tan cape draped over his shoulders.

Rosetta resisted the urge to gag as her eye twitched. Not knowing if she could restrain herself from beating the dusky blonde haired man to a messy pulp. The small writing utensil had no chance against Rosetta's oncoming wave of anger. It snapped in half with a sickening crack.

Trying to calm herself down, Rosetta took a few deep breaths, dropping the ex-utensil onto the recently cleaned floor. She looked at the visitor with a cold glare Raguna wouldn't approve of.

"Wherefore art thou my dear-" The old English seemed to roll naturally off the young man's tongue. It finally made Rosetta snap, her deep calming breaths having been in vain.

"Oh, just shut up Lukas! Don't you think I left without telling you for a reason?!"

**Author's Note: I am really /really/ sorry. I should have had this written ages ago for you guys D: Hopefully though, it was worth…the wait? I should've probably proof read it a few more times, but I really didn't want to make you guys wait anymore! So…uh, ta-da? Lute likes Tabatha, the DannyxAnette fluff still isn't over yet, and I hope I spelled Lukas right DX My original Rune Factory game is somewhere in the depths of the mess my sister calls her room, and online there were several different spellings… But I'm still very excited to finally bring him into the story! –rubs hands together evilly-**


	13. Reflections

"Of course! You wanted to test my dedication to you." Lukas replied without missing a beat. Rosetta glared at the young man. He wore the same confident smirk and stood up straight and tall like he always had. It had been almost a full year since the last time she saw Lukas. When she still lived in Kardia he was a constant nuisance at the store she helped her father run.

At opening time every single day Lukas would casually enter the store, as if he actually had to buy something, and just pester Rosetta with any new assortment of "romance." Usually it was a series of love poems and old English quotes from Shakespeare. Once he tried to physically make a move, but thankfully Rosetta's father stepped in. Remembering the fearful expression Lukas had worn that day made Rosetta want to giggle.

At the moment however, Rosetta was no where near the mood for giggling.

"No that's not why!" Rosetta fumed, her hands clenching into fists at her sides, "I swear, talking to you is like speaking to a brick wall!" Lukas blinked. Something flashed in his eyes for a moment. Rosetta couldn't figure out what it was, but she had meant what she said.

"You must've seen some pretty handsome brick walls then." Lukas didn't seem phased, despite what Rosetta knew she had seen in his eyes. It only made her angrier. Rosetta was almost yelling.

"That's not what I-" Rosetta was cut off mid sentence by the door chime ringing once again. Had a neighbor heard? Rosetta felt her heart skip a beat when she realized who was coming into the store. Her anger subsided only to be replaced with sick anxiety.

"Rosetta?" The farmer's polite voice spoke as opened the door. He was met by the sight of Lukas' caped back. "Uh…"

Lukas took a step forward and seemed to pivot so he was now facing Raguna. Rosetta's view of Raguna was now blocked by Lukas' head. She had a bad feeling in her stomach that this meeting would not end well.

"Who're you?" Lukas asked rudely. He had spent a long time traveling to track down Rosetta and he wasn't going to let some customer interrupt him. His eyes narrowed at Raguna, not wanting to wait any longer for a response. Raguna frowned, not appreciating the tone Lukas was using.

"I'm Raguna," The corners of his mouth tightened slightly. He trying to be polite and smile, but the farmer was too honest to fake the gesture. "Who're are you?" His voice was kind enough.

"Lukas, Rosetta's lover." He replied curtly.

"W-what?!" Rosetta's voice must've have risen an octave. Her face flushed deep red from anger. Raguna stepped left so he could at least see Rosetta. His face was a mixture of emotions. Rosetta swallowed, "He is not! Lukas is just someone who followed me from my hometown." She explained desperately. Lukas might've been able to say things like that back in Kardia, but not here! Not with someone like Raguna around!

"A-ah…" Raguna replied, blinking. Rosetta didn't know if he believed her completely. "I see. Well I suppose I could drop by later."

Rosetta began to explain that it was Lukas who should leave, but Lukas' voice over powered her own in a rude interupption. "Yes that would be best. Now shoo." Raguna looked at Rosetta with sad, confused eyes, turned, and then left the store.

They were walking silently. Again. The birdge clicked slightly under Anette and Danny's shoes as they made there way across it towards the lake. Anette was looking at the planks of the bridge. Her hand tugged at her braid mercilessly.

Danny just didn't understand it! What felt like moments ago, Anette had been cheerful and laughing with him. Now she wouldn't even give him a glance. Danny _knew _she _knew_ he was staring at _her_. Not just glancing or looking at her mind you, flat out staring. Something was wrong with her and Danny was going to find out what it was. He had finished eating his apple and the nourishment seemed to give him more enthusiasm towards life in general.

"What's wrong?" As he asked Danny stopped walked. He stood at the edge of the bridge, right on top of the hill that would lead them down to the frozen lake. Anette continued walking slightly down the hill before she noticed Danny had stopped walking. She turned around, still tugging at her braid. Anette eyes weren't on Danny, but he could now see her face.

"Are you going to answer me?" Danny pressed as he crossed his arms across his chest stubbornly. The wind seemed to pick up making goose bumps crawl across Danny's forearms. It had been a relatively nice day, the only clue hinting that it was winter being the thin layer of melting snow on the ground. Now it was beginning to feel more like the cold season it was. For a moment Danny was jealous of the heavy coat Anette wore, wishing he had bothered to slip even his thin jacket on before he left the house. Wishing did little good, as Danny still stood where he was in his thin shirt and pants.

"….I'm fine." Anette finally met Danny's eyes and replied. While her head was down Anette had been mustering the will power to suppress the urge to voice all her complaints about herself. She had been trying to find the good in her situation. When all she had come up with was that she got to laugh for a little bit Anette had spoken. She had managed to find the strength to force a smile on her face.

Danny recognized the smile. It was the same smile she'd given him when he first asked her to come to the lake with him. Now he realized that it was fake. Anette had been lying through her teeth this entire time. She didn't want to come down here with him and was now lying about being alright. The young man expected to be angry; at Anette, at himself, but the anger never came. Instead he felt…hurt.

Anette's smile faltered when Danny's gaze suddenly fell to his feet.

"If you don't want to be here then let's just get this over with." Danny's voice was soft, but bitter. Anette's eyes widened, realizing that Danny misunderstood why she was upset.

"N-no, that's not it- I mean…" Anette tried to explain, her pale eyes widening with worry and desperation. Danny didn't notice. He brushed past Anette towards the frozen surface of Trampoli's lake. Anette had no choice but to follow him. She had to set this straight, and what did he mean by "get this over with?"

"What do you mean?" Anette asked as she followed Danny down the hill towards the frozen lake. At first Anette thought he didn't hear her but apparently he did because he grunted passively and nodded his head in the direction of the Cornocopia trees.

Anette blinked, understanding what Danny meant. He needed her help. Of course one apple wouldn't fill him up. He'd have to eat a few more to be full. At the thought of eating Anette's stomach growled quietly. The thought of eating a crisp winter apple was indeed tempting.

Danny turned his head slightly towards Anette. He thought he heard her stomach growl, but… Anette was now walking in step beside him. She had noticed that Danny had turned his head and felt embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed modestly. Seeing her tinted cheeks made Danny look away abruptly.

Anette noticed. She bit her lip for a moment while deciding her course of action.

"You know…" She started, her voice quiet and seeming weak, "I really don't mind coming down here with you." Her voice finished her sentence strongly. She looked at Danny, hoping for some sort of positive reaction. There was one. He looked at her and his feet came to a stop. Anette stopped walking, too. They were now standing at the shore of the lake.

Danny's face expressed confusion, but with a positive implication. That however only lasted a moment before his brow furrowed and his lips turn down in a slight frown. "Then what are you so sad about?" He asked with honest irritation. Were all girls this complicated, emotionally at least?

"Oh it's nothing, really." Anette responded, not wanting to pour all of her complaints on Danny. He seemed like a nice enough guy, but… Anette internally shook her head. It would silly to expect someone like Danny to understand, much less genuinely care. He had only recently begun to actually talk to her; as in more then just the daily taunting.

Either way, Anette reasoned pouring your soul in to a friend who you don't know very well isn't very smart. Perhaps Danny would become a good enough friend that she would trust to confine in, but then again maybe not. At the moment though just keeping quiet was the best course of action. Yes.

Danny responded again with a skeptical grunt.

The two were now at where the shore of the frozen lake. Had the water been free of its ice bonds it would have been lapping at their feet. Without any hesitation Anette stepped on to the ice. Her shoes easily gained traction against the slick surface. Danny was a little more hesitant. Slipping and landing on his rear was the last thing he wanted to do.

Anette didn't notice her friend's hesitation. She headed towards the piece of land harboring the Cornocopia trees. Glancing at Anette with a jealous glint in his eye, Danny stepped onto the ice. He carefully distributed his weight evenly between each foot with each step he took on the ice. It didn't take him long to get into a steady stride where as he was able to catch up to Anette prior to reaching the Cornocopia trees.

As much as Danny would hate to admit it, he was concentrating. Concentrating really hard in order to make sure he would stay on his feet. He was so focused that it took Anette's startled gasp to knock him out of it. After awakening from his trance Danny only caught a glimpse of Anette's hat before she disappeared from his line of vision. He was startled and his brain was having trouble trying to understand what just happened.

"Ow…" Anette muttered from where she now sat on the ice, flat on her rear. Danny looked down at her. Feeling his gaze on her back, Anette scowled. Danny quickly took the steps in order to get in front of Anette.

Seeing him standing over her made Anette remember Lute and Tabatha; how Tabatha was being treating like royalty. If Danny helped her up, Anette decided, it would be just like that.

Danny saw Anette's scowling face. He realized she could never really scowl. Anette's face was too bright and happy. Her current expression seemed like a over dramatic child. A smile tugged at Danny's lips.

"Here," He offered a hand to Anette. She looked up at him with eyes brighter and happier than he anticipated. Her hand felt small in his as he pulled her up. Danny concentrated even more to make sure neither of them would lose their balance.

"Thanks," Anette smiled wide. Danny smiled faintly in return, trying to hide the fact that he could definitely get used to seeing that smile every day. "Well, let's go get some apples! I think I want to eat some, too!"

Danny nodded and they made their way to the small island. Anette and Danny exchanged relieved expressions as their feet felt the solid ground under their feet.

"Let's get some apples. I'm starving." Danny spoke. Anette responded with another brighter than the sun smile.

"Well, I better get going. I need to get ready for tomorrow's route." Anette stood up slowly, brushing off remnants of apples from her coat. She turned to Danny, who was still seated on the grass next to a small pile of apple cores.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Danny replied with a nod of his head.

Anette smiled, and then began her trek across the frozen lake.

Danny watched her go. Reflecting happily on the time he spent with her. They had both eaten their fill of apples, hence the pile of cores. It started off being a little quiet, crunching filling the majority of the air. It didn't take long however for Anette's friendly nature to take over leading to happy conversation. It had been nice, really nice, Danny concluded as Anette vanished over the hill and out of his sight.

Danny's gaze slid to the pile of apple cores. Now what was he supposed to do with these?

**Author's Note: I guess sorry doesn't really cover it this time… ._. I won't go in to the details, but it seemed Life found a pair of handcuffs that I haven't been able to unlock for the last three months ^^' I know this chapter really wasn't worth the wait, and I rushed the end, the proofreading, and well lot's of stuff, but I feel a lot better knowing that I at least updated. Any who, there's more where this came from! This story isn't even anywhere close to ending so expect quite a few more chapters! Also, thank you to everyone who's had the patience to put up with me =D**


	14. First Day

Waking up felt good. The complacent winter sun against Danny's skin even felt better than usual. His socked feet carried him effortlessly to his second floor window. He peered through the cheap filters and let the sun in more fully to his modest accommodations. Peering didn't seem to satisfy the young shop owner that oddly grand morning. Gently he tugged away the curtains, revealing the complete scene of Trampoli's business district on the dry winter morn. It was early, with the sun still rising in the east.

Danny hadn't slept well the night before. His adventure with Anette was an exceptional prequel to a task that kept him busy the majority of the day thereafter. It sat on the table in the center of the room.

In essence it was so small. The concept that it could cause Danny so much hardship for so long was almost ridiculous, but the overflowing mess of crumpled pieces of paper filling and surrounding the trash bin told a different story. Danny turned from the peaceful window to the item sitting on the table. An envelope.

Danny had never particularly liked his hand writing. It was messy and reminded him of chicken scratches. He looked at it all over the envelope; in the corner, where it strung together the letters that crafted Danny's own name and address and in the dead center. There it expressed that the letter was to be delivered to his father.

His socked feet again carried Danny, this time to the table. Gingerly he lifted it and tucked it away in his pocket.

Half an hour later Danny noisily clomped down the stairs, having taken extra care in his morning rituals of preparing himself to face the world. The envelope felt heavy in his pocket. That was okay, he decided. Then with a quick glance at the clock he walked right out of his store and into the chilly winter wind.

He didn't need to wait long. The dry cold only had a few minutes to flush Danny's features until Anette's scampering footsteps rang throughout the quiet district. Her thick boots hit the concrete to make an unusually sharp sound as she trotted up the steps.

"Hey Anette," Danny greeted nonchalantly. He might've felt oddly good, but he still wasn't a morning person. Anette approached Danny at her usual rapid pace.

"Hi Danny," Anette gave him a quick blink as she came to a stop. Her cheeks glowed pink as a testament to the chilly morning spent outside delivering mail. That barely held Danny's attention at all. He was quickly captivated by Anette's bright blue eyes, twinkling at him in friendly greeting.

Danny blinked in surprise when Anette's gaze detached from his.

"Let's see here. Mail for today…" Anette was now enthusiastically immersed in rummaging through her large mail bag.

"Actually," Danny began as he pulled the envelope from his pocket, "I have a…." His voice trailed off as he realized Anette wasn't listening. He waved the letter a couple inches from her cute face.

That caught her attention.

"Oh! You have a-"

"Letter that needs delivering." Danny interrupted calmly. His lips twitched and something fluttered in his chest as Anette's face lit up.

"Great! I'll totally have this delivered soon as I can!" Then with a curt grin Anette was off. He watched her go. There were still a few minutes until he had to be at Materia any way. When Anette vanished from view while racing up Ganesha's steep steps Danny began his lazy meander to his first day of work as a Materia employee.

Then there was loud crash. It echoed through the district.

Danny took a moment to regain composure. The startling noise seemed to have come from the inn. Shaking it off, Danny ran his fingers through his wavy mess of hair. Having caught a tangle, he completed the action with a wince. He'd just leave his hair alone from now on.

With his hand in a loose fist he knocked on Rosetta's door.

"Come in." Rosetta's voice sounded muffled through the door. Danny complied. The lighting was dim, dimmer than Danny expected. He saw his new boss walking slowly down the stairs. She flipped a light switch once she reached the bottom. The room was now lit to its usual state.

Something seemed off. Rosetta always struck Danny as a perfectionist. But now, there she stood just…not as composed as usual. Danny couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe the crash?

Rosetta interrupted Danny's train of thought.

"Alright Danny," She didn't sound very excited to have a new employee. "Your jobs are going to vary depending on what needs to get done. Your pay is going to vary too, but we can go over that at closing time."

Danny nodded.

Rosetta continued, "That box over there," she signaled a box in the far left corner of the shop, "is full of unlabeled products. All they need are their prices, tags, and then to be sorted and placed on the shelves."

"I can do that."

"Make sure you reference the price guide I have over there. And don't start sorting or shelving before everything has a price." Rosetta finished.

It must have just been Danny's imagination. Rosetta was as precise and composed as ever.

The wood floor was silent under Danny's shoes as he walked over to the box. It was a mess of bagged seeds, jars holding some substances, and some basic cooking ingredients. Resting on top, in a small plastic baggie, were two ink pens, small rectangular pieces of paper with a hole punched in the left side, and twine. Under the baggie was a piece of paper with Rosetta's hand writing. It was the price guide.

With no table nearby, Danny decided his work would be done on the floor. He sat down, cross legged and began his first job assignment.

Rosetta swallowed as she watched Danny work out of the corner of her eye. She was supposed to be taking inventory of the items she collected from shipping boxes, but… The young shop keeper had a lot on her mind. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate on anything lately.

Danny was completely oblivious to Rosetta's distracted attention that was slightly focused on him. He grabbed a bag of seeds, glanced at the products id, and then referenced the price guide. Slowly he would write what the price was on to a tag. If he went slow enough his hand writing looked sort of okay.

Rosetta noticed Danny wasn't tying the tags to the products immediately after he made them. Instead he was stacking all of them in a pile and not even touching the twine. She shook her head, trying to focus her attention back on to her inventory paper work.

Her pencil scratched the paper quietly. The two silently worked at their own steady paces.

* * *

Raguna had his hands in his pockets as he walked. The soil was tough under his boots.

Winter was a nice season. Maybe it used to be his favorite. Back when he had his memory that is. Crisp winter air always seemed more refreshing than the humid air of summer to the young farmer. Was there possibly another reason; one that he might've forgotten? A birthday of a loved one, or another sort of anniversary? Unanswered questions like those made Raguna wish he had at least some memories of his past years.

"Hey Raguna." A quiet monotonous voice spoke from above. He looked up.

"Kross! What're you-" Raguna was gazing up at the sole carpenter of Trampoli. He stood on his roof looking back down at the farmer. The carpenter raised his hand signaling for Raguna to quiet down.

"I've dropped a nail." Raguna saw the hammer in Kross' hand as he explained. "It should be right around there." Kross pointed with a finger just underneath where he stood among some grass.

Raguna nodded. He proceeded to search with his eyes for the nail. Oddly enough…there didn't seem to be one.

"Uh I don't see one…" Raguna called with his eyes still focused on the ground. Kross stood silently, looking down at Raguna with a blank expression.

"...Oh. It seems to be here in my pocket."

"Ah, well-"

"Thanks anyway Raguna." And Kross went back to repairing his roof.

Alright then, Raguna decided as he headed towards his original destination.

* * *

The door of Materia began opening, causing Rosetta and Danny to look up from their tasks. They hadn't anticipated the door slamming against the wall.

But it did.

The culprit stood in the doorway. Danny didn't recognize him. Rosetta apparently did.

"Lukas." Her voice was flat and filled with venom.

"Rosetta, my love!" Lukas strode through the door like he owned the place. Danny resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose. He already didn't like this guy.

Lukas gave a dramatic spin and only then noticed Danny. His face darkened.

"Rosetta, who's _this_?" The utter disgust radiated through Lukas' voice and face.

Who does this guy think he is? Danny stood up.

"This. Is. Danny. He. Works. Here." Rosetta's teeth were being ground to nubs as she spoke. Lukas glanced at Rosetta than back to Danny. They dwelled there for a moment.

"You should fire him." Lukas concluded flatly.

Rosetta began saying something but Danny ignored her. He squared up to Lukas, finding himself a good inch taller than the jerk.

"I don't know who you think you are, but all you're doing is being a nuisance. If all you can be is stupid, leave." Danny minded his tongue. It wasn't as if Rosetta would fire him based on this guy's accusations, but at the same time it looked as if she didn't like him anymore than he did.

"Oh don't worry, _Danny_." Lukas sneered his name. "Rosetta will pack up and leave you, too just you wait. It's not like you have anything I don't because-"

"I believe he asked you to leave, Lukas." A quiet voice called from the doorway. Danny hadn't noticed someone else enter the store. He looked past Lukas at the silhouette in the doorway.

"Raguna!" The farmer's name fell from Rosetta's lips more as an impulse than a greeting. She sounded relieved and scared at the same time.

Lukas glanced over his shoulder where Raguna was standing. The farmer stepped to one side and signaled the doorway was open. Lukas stepped away from Danny with a defiant "Hmph!" He made his way to the door and left, but not without blowing Rosetta a kiss goodbye.

Raguna, Rosetta, and Danny were left in an awkward silence. The only noise for several moments was the gentle click of the closing door. Danny glanced at Rosetta, all the color seemed to have been drained from her face. Raguna looked slightly grim and preoccupied.

Raguna broke the silence and looked to have regained focus on the present, "So when did you start working here, Danny?

"It's actually-" Danny began.

"It's his first day here." Rosetta interrupted.

Raguna nodded in understanding. Danny felt as if the whole Lukas incident was being put behind them. Good, Danny decided. He walked back over to the labels and products.

"Actually Rosetta, I was hoping I could talk to you…" Raguna stated quietly.

Danny pretended not to hear and immersed himself back in his work. He could imagine how red Rosetta's face as she and Raguna went outside for their conversation.

**Author's Note: It's been more than year, so for all of you still out there, here-ya-go! Don't worry. I know Lukas really isn't that evil. I'll get him back IC later…maybe. **


End file.
